THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE COMMUNICATION






A Study in Thought

sa091



by





Marius Heuff

Chapter 1

Content

A brief review of topics discussed in the previous essay.
A look at the anthropoids, before the emergence of man.
The border-areas between forests and grass-lands.
The experiment with symbolic representation may well have taken place in several anthropoid species' simultaneously.
The significance of this development becomes clear in a broad, retrospective over-view.
What is the existential significance of the ability to recall an event or a memory-trace with an act of mimicry?
Incidental and accidental recalls of memory-traces.
The cerebral classification mechanisms of behaviourally flexible animals.
The significance of "long-distance" sense-organs.
"Intelligence-gathering", and the struggle for survival.
Essentially the same situation can be interpreted positively or negatively.
What is the use of a stream of data, if an organism lacks the ability to evaluate its meaning?
When an animal is "satiated", it becomes less sensitive to existentially significant stimuli.
The "filtering" of sense impressions.
The ability to receive sense impressions is never completely absent, not, even, in deep sleep.
Without a memory-bank, a quick process of classification, and an instantaneous assessment of existential significance, an efficient behavioural response would be impossible.

We have seen in the previous essay, that art may represent a predominantly non-verbal form of communication, such as music or the visual arts of drawing, painting and sculpting. We have also discussed art-forms that incorporate a verbal component, such as the writing of prose or poetry, the singing of songs, the telling of a story, and, we have expanded the definition of art to include nearly every human activity that evokes a measure of admiration and wonderment on account of the exceptionally high level of skill and dedication reflected by this activity. We have also discussed the importance of, and the need for, an ethical evaluation, when considering behavioural activities, because all these activities have an impact upon the well-being of people and their social environment.

In this essay, we would like to concentrate upon the remarkable development of the ability to form concepts and communicate with a fluid stream of words, forming sentences, paragraphs, chapters and books. We have often described the ideas that lie behind the evolution of these capabilities, but, once again, we would like to trace, here, in as much detail as is possible and desirable, how this capability may have arisen, and, what sort of a plausible working hypothesis we may construct to let us visualise a smooth, logical evolution of this faculty, which became super-imposed upon the pre-existing, pre-verbal methods of communications. Then, in the final essay of this three-part series, we will concentrate, specifically, upon the world of scientific behaviour; its definition, range of possibilities, as well as its limitations.

Before we look at the developments that ushered-in the dawn of symbolically representable awarenesses, we should consider the background against which these evolutionary changes took place. Certainly, we have no records of these events, and, we will never have anything more than indirect evidence for the imagery of a plausible theory. It seems reasonable to assume, that the anthropoids were reasonably abundant at the time, when a variety of closely related species' were occupying an ecological niche in the border areas between the large forests and the grass-lands. These grass-lands were huge plains with a few scattered trees, here and there. The savannahs were the transitional lands between the great plains and the forests and contained a larger number of trees, scattered in groups throughout the landscape. A large variety of mammalian species' dominated these plains.

We visualise the ancestral species of man as one particular branch of a large group of anthropoids. This ancestral species gave rise, on the one hand, to the hominids, of which mankind is the only surviving species, as well a variety of apes, some of which still survive. Probably, the experiment with symbolic representation took place in a variety of anthropoid species', because we have no reason to believe, that only one species would start experimenting with this form of behaviour. After all, all anthropoids were living in very similar circumstances.

However, as is so often the case, a particular evolutionary development has a slow and inconspicuous start, and, the importance of this particular experiment with symbolic representations becomes only clear in a broad retrospective over-view. Now, we are beginning to understand to what extent verbalisable, conscious awareness has become the pillar upon which the viability of the human species has come to depend, but, for many millions of years, the occasional recollection of an experience on the basis of an act of mimicry or gesticulation, must have passed-off as an isolated incident, which did not led to any specific changes in the living habits of those animal species', which would, accidentally and occasionally, recall a memory-trace on the basis of such an act of mimicry.

As a rule, it takes a long time in the evolutionary history of a particular species, for a trend to become significant, because significance means, that, somehow, in one way or another, the existence or livelyhood of a species, (or, at least, a small segment of an existing species), begins to depend upon a particular form of behaviour. It is fairly easy to see, how an increase in the attitudes of ferocity and fearlessness, or, an increase in speed and agility, would lead, quickly, to a significant existential advantage, because, immediately, an animal is able to hunt better, obtain food where it could not before, or, it is able to escape from a situation that would have spelled the end, before the animal was able to muster this extra measure of speed, agility and endurance.

In most evolutionary changes and developments, it is easy to see, why they played a role in the enhancement of viability, but, where is the existential significance or advantage of the ability to evoke a memory-trace with the ability to mimic a particular event or happening? It is not really satisfying to say, that it allowed the beginning of a more sophisticated form of communication, in spite of the fact, that, indeed, man's viability started to depend, eventually, upon the possibilities that were opened-up by the art of symbolic representation, together with the conscious awareness of verbalisable concepts and ideas.

At the beginning of such incidental and accidental recollections of a particular memory-trace, the occurrence must have passed essentially unnoticed, even, if it may have been a somewhat frightening experience, when a memory-trace could be brought back into a focus of awareness by the behaviour of a fellow member, rather than by an analogous event in the world of "real life", where, of course, the experiences of the past are continuously evoked and brought into a focus of awareness, in order to classify a particular sense-impression as "known", familiar, or, perhaps, even, as strange, un-familiar and potentially dangerous.

This brings us back to the idea we have discussed many times before; nl., the existence of a cerebral classification mechanism allowing the higher, behaviourally flexible animals with a sensory apparatus that is very similar to our own, to "feel their way around" in the environment. The basic idea is the following, recapitulating, briefly, what we have discussed more extensively before. The behaviourally flexible animals with their elaborate sense-organs, such as sight, hearing, smell, proprioception, equilibrium, etc., have developed an equally complex and sophisticated cerebral mechanism to locate, or, rather, "project" into the mental imagery of their spatial environment, the events, happenings and items of existence that are important to them.

We have seen, that the special senses of sight, hearing and smell allow them to "locate" these existentially significant events or forms of existence, at a much greater distance, without the need for close physical contact. The hunt, as well as the escape from danger, but, also, the search for a suitable mate, would be impossible without these special senses, and we see, then, that the evolution of the special sense-organs, as well as all the other functions of the body and the central nervous system, were initiated and maintained by a constant struggle for survival.

We used to consider the natural weaponry of various animal species' as evidence for a continuing arms-race in nature, where claws and fangs, armoured plating, or, even, sheer power and speed, were the weapons with which the species' battled for survival, but, we have to broaden our concepts to include in the armamentarium or weaponry for the struggle of survival, also, the sophisticated "intelligence-gathering" devices, such as the senses.

These intelligence-gathering devices can be used offensively or defensively, as well as in the specific behaviour-patterns required to propagate the species through sexual reproduction. The special senses of sight, hearing and smell are used to locate prey and predators, as well as a mate, and, we have seen, that the classification of a stream of sense-impressions may lead to remarkably different judgements of significance. If the senses are locating a prey, the meaning is positive or "ad-gressive", where the animal tends to move towards the source of these signals, but, conversely, if the signals indicate the presence of a predator, a highly defensive behavioural complex is set into motion, where the animal tries to escape detection or capture.

We see, then, that, essentially the same situation can be interpreted positively or negatively, and can arouse instinctive behaviour-patterns at opposite ends of the agressive-defensive scale, depending upon the nature of the sense-impressions that are registered. This basic biological fact will haunt us again and again, as we search for security and truth in the interpretation of our reality perceptions, but, here, we want to recall the fact, that the development of such sophisticated machinery to scan the distant environment for existentially significant signals, also means, that the organism must develop the machinery to "correlate" this constant stream of sense impression with its needs and its "executive apparatus", or the musculo-skeletal system. In other words, it must be able to classify these incoming sense impressions in order to determine their existential significance and formulate an appropriate response.

What good is a stream of data if an organism lacks the ability to evaluate their meaning? While, initially, only a rough classification is necessary, distinguishing between data that indicate food from those indicating a possible danger, we must assume, that, in order to make this basic classification more useful, the incoming sense impressions must be classified into categories, which then convey, automatically, the existential significance of the sense impressions. For example, if an organism sees something move, it must somehow "recognise" it, before it can decide whether it means food, danger, or, perhaps, neither.

These ideas lie behind the concept of a "cerebral classification mechanism", where sense impressions are continuously classified into a large number of categories, and, when a sense impression has been classified into the appropriate category, the animal is able to respond with an appropriate behavioural act. If an incoming sense impression activates a category that means "food", the organism will go into a hunting behaviour, or, if a category is activated meaning "danger", a predator, or a mate, then, another behavioural complex is set into motion.

We have assumed, here, that the animal is alert and ready to respond. However, if an animal is satiated and not aroused by physiological needs, its alertness will diminish significantly, and the incoming sense impressions are "attenuated". This occurs, perhaps, by a "filtering" process, where only much stronger signals "come through" and evoke an arousal response, compared to a situation, when the animal is hungry. If an animal is satiated, it may be, that, more of the sense impressions are then shunted towards a category that means "non-significant". However, this last hypothesis is less likely, because we have postulated that the physiological capabilities of the sense-organs evolved as a result of an existential need, and, many signals that are non-significant, are not even registered.

However, it is undoubtedly true, that the meaning of incoming sense impressions fluctuates to a large extent, and, many sense impressions that are potentially meaningful, may not arouse any sort of response, if the animal does not experience a need to respond. The significance of danger is never completely absent, however, and, therefore, strong signals can arouse an animal, even, if it is asleep. Probably, the brain never ceases completely its classifying operations, arousing a sleeping animal, whenever a sense impression filters through that is somewhat unusual, stronger than normal, or, in need of scrutiny.

While we do not have precise ideas, how such classifying mechanisms take place in the brain, it seems an inescapable conclusion, that, every animal will have to form a memory-repertoir of the sense impressions that are coming in from its environment. Only if an animal can quickly decide, subconsciously of course, whether or not a particular sense impression is familiar, and, what sort of significance this sense impression acquires, only then, can the animal "cope" with the continuous stream of sensory data, and, only then, can it behave appropriately and afford to neglect a large body of data that has no particular significance at a particular time. It can, then, concentrate its attention upon those data which do have significance.

This is, perhaps, the essence of the cerebral system for the classification of incoming sensory information, and, this system is a necessary adjunct in the evolution of the specific sense-organs in the behaviourally flexible animals. Without a memory-bank of well-ordened categories of recognised and recognisable awarenesses, a quick classification process, as well as an instantaneous assessment of meaning, we can not visualise the harmonious behavioural responses, which healthy and intact animals are universally capable of.

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Chapter 2

Content

Cerebral classifications do not imply the existence of verbalisable awarenesses.
The quality of alertness without the ability to verbalise an awareness.
Why it is important to be able to give names to all familiar sense-impressions.
It is difficult, for us, to imagine a form of awareness without the ability to "give a name".
The nature of animal "volition".
Pre-verbal communications represent, largely, a synchronisation of moods, or states of alertness.
A look at the stream of sense-impressions, before social integration has taken place.
The monumental change from a behaviour of territoriality to hierarchical ordening.
When other animals become part of the "scanned environment".
A natural tendency to abandon, or drive-off, a member who has become sick or wounded.
The spread of a danger-signal.
"Clustered existence" is only possible, if the food-supply is relatively abundant.
Solitary existence.
The essential vulnerability of youngsters from behaviourally flexible species'
Family-units, and the practice of food-sharing.
Mood synchronisation is necessary to tolerate each other at close quarters.
The nature of a "mood".
Rational communications form only the tip of an iceberg of sub-verbal communications.
Baffled by the seemingly illogical twists and turns of a flow of verbalised communications.

Let us remind ourselves that the existence of such a "cerebral computer" to process the data from a large variety of special and general sense-organs, does not imply the existence of a conscious awareness of the human type. Certainly, the animal shows signs of alertness, recognizing a large variety of familiar objects, events as well as other life-forms, and, it behaves appropriately in relation to its environment, but, the act of recognition, together with the "accessing" of the cerebral memory-banks, always occurs on the basis of an analogous reality-experience. This analogous or similar experience is the source of a stream of analogous sense-impressions, which are processed by the cerebral computer in much the same way as previous experiences of a similar nature.

The human being can give names to all these familiar and recognisable sense-data, and, the cerebral memory-banks of the human being can be "accessed", not only, by the appropriate analogous sensory data coming from contemporary, analogous sense impressions, but also, by completely arbitrary sounds, or words, which are uttered by another human being in the process of language-communication, or, which may have been written-down, a long time ago, as a graphic representation of these words.

We will try to develop a plausible imagery about the way this super-imposed layer of conscious and verbalisable awarenesses could have developed. Before we proceed on this difficult and audacious task, I would like to review, first, what sort of communications had already been developed by the behaviourally flexible mammalian species', which never acquired the ability of symbolic representation, or symbolic access, to their cerebral memory-banks.

Again, we run into problems of our own making, when we try to visualise, what sort of communications are taking place between animals with similar sense-organs as ourselves, because we have a difficult time to avoid giving a specifically anthropomorphic quality to these processes of communication. Almost invariably, we visualise the act of communication in terms of verbalisable awarenesses, and, even, if we manage to strip this particular quality from the processes of communication, we still assume, more or less subconsciously, that the act of communication has a volitional or intentional element. The reason is, of course, that we make, so often, a deliberate decision to communicate something to others, and, even, if we do not make such a deliberate decision, we see, that the act of communication has often a motivation behind it. Yet, is it realistic to consider pre-human, animal communications as the result of a "volition", or a "motivation"? Does an animal "want" to communicate with others?

Probably, to some extent, this is, indeed, the case, especially, if we look at the pre-verbal anthropoids, where a sophisticated social integration has taken place. While we have no definite evidence, that these animals have developed elaborate conceptual communications, we see, probably, instances, where one animal deliberately "communicates" something to another. This "something" is, probably, related to the hierarchical order, and, a challenger, or, someone who is getting somewhat "out of line", may be reminded about his or her position in the hierarchy. Perhaps, we see, also, a deliberate or intentional communication about the presence of danger or food, but, it is difficult to decide, whether the excitement shown by the individual who sees first a change in the status-quo, is voluntary or involuntary.

The communications about the presence of positive or negative stimuli spread through a community, because the excitement induced by the first observer, alerts the rest of the animals that "something" is going-on, and we are, probably, on safe grounds, if we assume that the nature of the behaviour of the "excited" individual already distinguishes between positive and negative stimuli.

It is useful to place the whole aspect of communication in the overall perspective of an on-going stream of sense-impressions which every sohpisticated animal is constantly receiving, as long as it exists in a state of alert contact with its environment. Then, we can visualise, how the processes of communication began, even, before there existed any social organisation, except, perhaps, some sort of a primitive congregation into a herd or a flock. If we look at the conditions of strict territoriality and competitive existence, the presence of another animal of the same species, represents a negative stimulus. This may not necessarily lead to a fight or a flight, but, there will certainly be an element of mutual repulsion as competitive organisms tend to spread over as wide a territory as possible. In such a situation, the other members of a species will, only rarely, become a part of the environment that is constantly being scanned by the special sense-organs of an alert organism.

However, if we look at the situation, where a group of animals tolerate each other at close range, we see, that another animal is nearly constantly a source of signals that may have a strong existential significance. If the animals tolerate each other, the signals will be more or less neutral, but, if a more powerful animal in the herd or flock "throws its weight around", a "signal of caution" will be registered by the others.

We have argued, on previous occasions, that the change from territoriality to a hierarchical form of togetherness allows a much better defense against predators, since the strongest members can defend the territory, while the weaker members support the dominant animals in their tasks. However, such a dramatic change in behaviour is not possible without a great deal of physiological or subconscious communications. First of all, the close range of togetherness creates a dramatic change in the sphere of awareness, or, rather, it creates a significant change in the content of the environmental signals which each animal is registering and classifying. Now, other animals become part of this "scanned environment", and, they will begin to form an important category. This category has no fixed significance, because the meaning depends upon the behaviour of the animals in this "scanned environment".

Let us assume, that a stable hierarchical relationship is, eventually, taken as "the norm" by the cerebral classification mechanisms of the animals in a group, but, this means, that, any deviation of this behaviour will become a source for a renewed evaluation of the situation, in order to determine the meaning of the behavioural or hierarchical change. The behavioural changes could have vastly differing consequences; for example, one of the animals could have an accident or become sick, and its behaviour could become so abnormal, that this animal is not recognised anymore as a member of the group. Because of a long standing, if subconscious, experience, that such behaviour is quickly followed by death, or an attack from predators, it is logical, that such a behaviour of vulnerability is shunned. There is, therefore, a strong, natural tendency to abandon a member that has become sick or wounded, because it may become the target for an attack by the natural predators of the species.

At the same time, we see, that a sighting or an awareness of predators and other dangers will evoke an instinctive and evolutionary ancient response of "panic", or, extreme defensiveness, usually associated with a sudden spurt away from the source of danger. This sudden complex of movements is also noted by the others, as they scan continuously their environment with their special sense-organs. If the others in the environment follow, quickly and decisively, the sudden spurt of action carried-out by the animal that saw or sensed the danger, we see, that a group, such as a herd or a flock, has greatly increased its ability to avoid danger.

If a number of animals would be outside each other's sphere of sensory contact, then, the predation or the killing of one animal may escape the notice of a neighbouring animal, and, a number of grazing animals could be attacked and killed without a decisive danger-response from the others. We see, therefore, an immediate and significant existential advantage, if animals remain within each other's "sensory horizon", especially, for animals, whose defense is, primarily, a flight away from danger. The alertness response can then spread lightning-fast through a herd, and a great majority of the animals will escape, leaving the older or sick animals as a prey for the predator. We see, then, a natural process of "culling" a herd, and, this mechanism forms an important pathway for evolutionary pressures, molding the genetic code of a herd, and, accentuating those traits in behaviour and physiological make-up, which secure survival.

We see, therefore, that the processes of "emotional synchrony", or sub-verbal communication, are a natural result of the ability to scan an environment with special sense-organs, and, we see that the ability to notice the danger-response of another animal, somewhere in the spectrum of this scanned environment, gives a significant existential advantage, compared to an animal with identical physiological properties, but, without the aid of seeing or hearing evidence for an attack upon a member of his own kind. The disadvantages of an increased population density may easily be off-set by the advantages of such a "clustered existence", in particular, if the food-supply is abundant. We see, that such a clustered existence as a herd or flock is, indeed, useful for animals which can find, almost everywhere, their food.

Animals that require a complex and sophisticated hunt, do not form a large herd, because a carnivorous way of life requires a large territory. Such animals remain, therefore, territorial and, often, solitary hunters, but, there are certain species' that have learned to hunt in packs. The superior physiological capabilities of solitary hunters allow them to survive on their own, provided, that they are able to reach maturity from a sphere of gradually diminishing parental protection.

The growth into an efficient, solitary hunter requires, often, a long "apprenticeship". These animals become superior hunters as adults, but, they require a long and vulnerable period of up-bringing, which is, at the same time, a burden for the parental generation, as well as an opportunity for clever behavioural adaptations for the family-grouping as a whole. The vulnerability of the youngsters requires an additional measure of alertness and ferocity by the parents, in particular, the mother, who will fight fearlessly against intruders and predators. At the same time, a strongly protective parental instinct is necessary to care for the youngsters, until the time has come that they can look after themselves. It is logical to see the practice of "food-sharing" emerge in such family-units.

Here, we see an important distinction between the herd and the much smaller family-unit, because they have a different evolutionary and existential background. Let us not forget, that the herd is often made-up of much smaller, "family-units" with a definite hierarchical relationship, while the reason for the existence of the larger herd, is dictated by the existential advantages that come with a quickly spreading danger-signal, synchronising the movements of the herd into a swift and efficient response.

However, the mechanisms of "behavioural synchronisation" are so fundamentally important for the successful development of any sort of social togetherness, that we should discuss this phenomenon a little more in detail, in particular, because the human being has, still, a strong tendency to synchronise his behaviour-patterns with those around him. We see this phenomenon especially prominent in the behaviour of the "mob", but we all tend to synchronise our feelings and sensations, whenever we are experiencing the same situation, such as watching a play or movie.

The subjective feelings we experience when we are "aroused", either towards the pole of anger or aggressivenes, the pole of fear and anxiety, or the pole of sexuality, are called "emotions", and, if we experience a more permanent, but, still, emotionally coloured state of existence, we call this state of synchronisation a "mood". We synchronise our emotions and moods quite easily, and, even, small children absorb, quickly and accurately, the underlying emotional states or tensions of the family-grouping in which they live. This happens long before children can talk, or know what is happening, and, we remain, throughout our lives, subjected to such emotional and largely subconscious mechanisms of emotional synchronisation.

As a matter of fact, our rational, verbal or explicit communications form only a small tip of an ice-berg of communications, which sticks-out into the level of our conscious awarenesses. Often, we think, that the flow of our rational communications are governed by the processes of logic and reason, which are supposed to dictate the flow of a dialogue, but, frequently, we forget to evaluate, accurately, or, to appreciate, sufficiently, the powers of such emotional under-currents and mood-synchronisations, and, if we forget to take these emotional under-currents into account, we will remain baffled by the seemingly illogical twists and turns which a flow of conscious and verbalisable communications so often takes.

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Chapter 3

Content

A long and vulnerable apprenticeship in childhood is the necessary price for the ability to learn from experiences and parental examples.
A discussion of the feature of "behavioural flexibility".
The problems associated with rapidly changing circumstances, a long "generation time", and a low population density.
Short-comings of the genetic method for the provision of viable behaviour-patterns.
Nothing in nature arises "out of the blue".
The potential of "learning" has always been present.
Behavioural flexibility requires a greatly enlarged repertoir of sensory capabilities.
The phenomenon of "temporary behavioural programming".
The requirements for complex hunting techniques.
The need for specific or factual communications.
Grasping, with a measure of conviction and enthousiasm, the imagery that makes it plausible to see, how, and why, the road towards language communication was begun.
A code of "cultural transmissions".
Intelligent behaviour.
The functions of the genetic code in behaviourally flexible animals.
A "fine-tuning" of the behavioural response.
The value of imitating successful parental examples.
Building-up a personal experience-base.
What is necessary to unfold an attitude of "concerned parenthood".
The element of "play" during childhood.
Setting limits for tolerable behaviour-patterns.
The gradual withdrawal of a "parental sphere of care and protection".
Contributions made by both parents.
The simultaneous development of the attitudes of cooperation, ferocity and parental concern.
A gradual rise in the need to explore the potentials of symbolic communications is linked to the manipulation of tools and weapons, mechanisms of socialisation, as well as the cultural transfer of acquired knowledge and behaviour-patterns.

We have seen, how animal communications on a pre-verbal or pre-symbolic level arose "naturally", when nature started to explore the existential advantage of "clustered existence", together with the requirements for sophisticated parental behaviour. The flexible species' "payed" for a remarkable degree of flexibility and skill, with a long and vulnerable apprenticeship in childhood and adolescence. The human species is very much heir to both developments, and, we have the dubious distinction to have the longest and most vulnerable period of childhood and adolescence of any species we know.

We should review, briefly, the evolutionary development of behavioural flexibility, and, we will remind ourselves about the enormous possibilities and potentialities that opened-up, when nature started to explore, seriously, the possibility of letting viability depend upon the flexibility and adaptability of the living individual, rather than on the much slower, but, also, much more durable route of genetic adaptation to changing circumstances.

Throughout the evolution of living species', it has been the function of genetic variability, (made possible by the sexual mode of reproduction and a large number of participating individuals), to ensure the possibility of a faithful reproduction of the individual members of a species, as well as a slow adaptation to changing circumstances. The adaptation to a particular set of circumstances came-about through the processes of natural selection, allowing reproduction to take place, only, from that particular segment of the genetic spectrum, whose members possessed, most fully, the necessary and desirable characteristics which would give the best possible chances for survival, as well as a continuation of this necessarily unbroken chain of generations.

As long as the "generation time" was relatively short, the species large, with many members "actualised" into a living existence at any one particular time, and, as long as the environmental changes came-about slowly and persisted for a considerable period of time, it was, indeed, a supremely successful way of exploring the possibilities of existence for a large variety of living organisations.

However, once the living organisation became large and complex, the population density decreased, and the genetic turn-over slowed-down to a remarkable extent. In order to make use of possibilities of existence that came and went quickly, it was logical, and inevitable, that nature started to experiment with a greater degree of variability of individual behaviour. If it would become possible for an organism to "learn" from past experiences, it would open-up an avenue of behavioural adaptations on the basis of such learned experiences, and, these adaptations could, then, follow quickly changing local circumstances. The behavioural adaptation would, then, not have to "wait" for the slow process of genetic encoding, which would take many generations to accomplish and would, therefore, never be able to respond to temporary opportunities of existence.

Again, as we always see in nature, such a development or "experiment", did not come suddenly into being, nor, was it a completely new principle that had not been fore-shadowed before. As we understand, better, how a "fluid" life-form can search for adaptations in its organisation to enhance its possibilities of existence, we know, why a "new" development can never arise "out of the blue", and, we understand the reasons, why a specific possibility, or a new development, has to be an accentuation of a previously developed mechanism. The possibility of "learning", of varying a response according to the prevailing circumstances, has always been one of the most essential characteristics of the cellular, or, even, pre-cellular living organisation, and, even, in the multi-cellular life-forms that arose long before we see the emergence of the feature of "behavioural flexibility", we see, that the motoric response of an animal depended, to a large extent, upon the circumstances in which it found itself.

The emergence of the quality of "behavioural flexibility" means more than just an elaboration of a complex motoric response, according to the circumstances of the local environment. For example, a "behaviourally fixed" and genetically precisely programmed insect still has a great deal of variability in its motoric behaviour, as we can see in the manner it navigates around an obstacle-course. The crux of behavioural flexibility has to be found in a greatly enlarged repertoir of sensory capabilities, and, especially, in a greatly enlarged capability to distinguish between the familiar and the un-familiar.

After the cerebral apparatus developed the ability to record the essential outlines of a large number of experiences, or sensory data, including the ability to decide, whether or not a particular sensory input was familiar and required only a routine response or needed further scrutiny, only, then, was it possible for the behavioural response of an organism to be "programmed", and thereby modified, by a long line of experiences. Only, then, the possibility arose for an organism to "see", or notice, in one way or another, through a combination of its sense-organs and its evaluating mechanisms, whether or not a new possibility to obtain food, energy or shelter, had presented itself, and, how it would be possible to make use of such a new, but, perhaps, quite transient and potentially dangerous opportunity.

This, in a nut-shell, is the concept of behavioural flexibility, or "plasticity", and, as we know, we are the supreme heirs to this particular line of evolutionary development. However, we are not the only heirs, and, we can say with some justification, that the entire mammalian family is heir to the evolution of flexible behaviour-patterns, in contrast to the arthropods and reptiles, whose behaviour is much less flexible and, therefore, more stereo-typed. Yet, the distinction is not sharp, and, even, within the mammalian species', we see large differences. Some species' have developed and inherited a much greater degree of behavioural flexibility than others, as we see demonstrated so clearly in the common domestic animals. Here, we often take the absence or presence of the ability to "learn something new" as a yard-stick for the level of behavioural flexibility of a particular species.

Let us go back to the mammals, and, let us look at the behaviour of a large and complex animal with an equally complex hunting behaviour, as well as an offspring that requires a long period of protection and learning. Consequently, a high level of cooperation and communication is necessary between the members of the family-unit. Let us see, what sort of communications or behavioural inter-actions take place in a family-unit that would be comparable to the family-units of the pre-human animals, which, long ago, in that nebulous and distant past, started to experiment with a new dimension in behavioural flexibility. We are referring, here, to the ability to communicate with symbolic representations, which led to the slow emergence of a new regulating code; the code of "cultural transmission".

Only, if we have a good grasp over the physiological and biological mechanisms of inter-action under which our pre-human ancestors were living, will we be able to grasp, with a measure of conviction and enthousiasm, the imagery that makes it plausible, how, and why, the road towards the evolution of language communication was begun. This road actually started, already, with the development of the feature of "behavioural flexibility", including the cerebral and sensory mechanisms that developed as a result of the specific requirements arising from emphasising behavioural flexibility as a mechanism of survival. We can also summarise this by saying, that "behavioural flexibility" was the beginning of the road of "intelligent behaviour", and, the peculiarly vulnerable period of childhood and adolesence was the "price" that was paid for exploring and exploiting this evolutionary trend. It required a specific set of attitudes by parents and youngsters alike, in order to make this mode of behaviour a successful avenue for survival.

The behaviourally flexible animal needs a prolonged period of "behavioural programming", which is dominated, initially, by an aptitude and willingness to copy, or imitate, the behaviour of the parents, and, this element of "survival through imitation" is slowly supplemented by a personal experience-base, which becomes increasingly important as the individual reaches adolescence and maturity.

By the time the individual is fully mature, the experience-base is strong enough, not only, to make survival possible without further parental guidance, but, the behaviour starts to function as a model for its own offspring. In summary, we see three important factors at work, here; the genetic code determines body structure, as well as the physiological range of the capabilities of the sense-organs, the cerebral computer, together with the integration of the body as a whole. In addition, the genetic code also furnishes an overall outline for the behaviour of the animal, in particular, if the animal reacts strongly instinctively, and, therefore, "stereo-typically", around one of the three existential poles; aggression, defense or sexuality.

However, the behaviour of the flexible animal is profoundly influenced, modified, or "finely tuned", by an input from "experience". This experience-base has two important components; the "experience" of the parental generation, which is absorbed in the younger years and forms the initial "template" for the behaviour-patterns of the younger generations, and, the increasingly important but slow build-up of a "personal experience-base", where the continuous processes of classification make it more and more likely, that an animal will formulate an appropriate behavioural response on the basis of the recognition of a "familiar" situation or experience.

The third factor, or input, comes from the fact, that, by necessity, the requirements of the family-unit, (or, the extended family-unit, where a group of related animals keeps "hanging together"), make it necessary, that life is lived within a socially integrated grouping, and, that the existential demands of the individual are often subordinated to the hierarchical pressures of more dominant animals, including the instinctive behaviour-patterns of "concerned parenthood".

We see, then, the following "lines", or routes, for the flow of communication signals within such a small group of related and socially integrated animals. First, there is the nearly blind following of the mother, in particularly, by her youngsters, and, nearly continuously, these youngsters are absorbing and imitating the behaviour of their mother. Yet, at times, when the youngsters are active and alert, and the mother is somewhat tired or is not engaged in any particular exemplary form of behaviour, the youngsters will start "playing", where they act-out, to some extent, the instinctive behaviour-patterns of the hunt, the chase, as well as other activities, or, the youngsters start "exploring" their surroundings. This will invariably alert the mother, as she senses, instinctively, that they will get into trouble. We see, therefore, that the parents, and, especially, the mother, who is the primary "educative parent", will tolerate a certain freedom of behaviour, but, frequently, the mother, or either parent, will intervene and "correct" behaviour that is in danger of exceeding "tolerable limits".

We see, then, a continuous inter-play between youngsters and parents, where a sphere of protection, freedom to play and explore, including the provision of nourishment, is provided to the youngsters, and, such a sphere of guidance and protection is maintained by the efforts of the parental generation. This allows the youngsters to grow-up, develop their potentials in a natural atmosphere of play and excercise, but, they also learn, what sort of behaviour is acceptable to the parents and the other members of the group, and, what sort of behaviour is not acceptable.

As the youngsters are getting older, this "special sphere of protection" is gradually withdrawn; their range of freedom and initiative becomes larger, but, there is less protection, and, they have to learn, now, "the hard way", and begin to fend for themselves. They have to learn to get their own food and to stand their ground in a dispute. Gradually, they take their place in the hierachical order of the small community, as they grow into adults and are beginning to play a role as an adult and a parent.

This prolonged maintenance of a sphere of protection for vulnerable youngsters places stringent requirements upon the level of cooperation between the adult members. This mode of "up-bringing" would have been impossible, if natural selection had failed to sharpen an efficient pattern of parental concern in both adults. We have described, briefly, the required attitudes and behaviour-patterns of the mother, but, the father has to make a contribution as well.

The pregnant female, or the female with youngsters to take care of, is a highly vulnerable creature, in spite of the courageous ferocity an active mother-instinct brings to the fore, and, we see, that, almost invariably, the stronger male assumes an additional defensive role in the protection of the family-unit, and provides, to some extent, the food requirements for the entire family by sharing the spoils of the hunt. These attitudes of protection and food sharing are patterns which natural selection had to sharpen, genetically, into the behaviour of the flexible species', because without such behaviour-patterns, survival would not have been possible.

So far, we have been looking at behavioural trends, which became sharpened into the genetic repertoir of behavioural instructions, because nature had a prolonged period of time at its disposal to favour and shape such attitudes of cooperation and socialisation; by rewarding them with viability and survival. Probably, there were other trends that re-enforced the need for cooperation. We have speculated, that there would always be a trend towards attacking, or defending against, the larger animals of the open plains.

If a somewhat larger animal could be brought-down as a prey, the food-supply would suddenly be increased dramatically, and, also, the same techniques, which would facilitate the successful hunt of a somewhat larger animal, would allow a better defense against those animals, which would pose a menace, or, even, an out-right predatorial threat to a pre-human family-unit. For this reason, we think, that it is logical to see a simultaneous development of increasing cooperation and ferocity, together with the sharpening of the parental requirements. The cooperation between a few adult males during the hunt, in conjunction with the use of sticks and stones, picked-up by the large, prehensile forelimbs of these bi-pedal animals, led to a remarkable degree of success for an "intelligent", or quickly adaptable, if ferocious and somewhat cruel mode of existence.

We can not visualise, at the present time, with any degree of accuracy, in what time-frame, or, under what sort of a sequential developments these aptitudes and attitudes arose, and, we have to be satisfied, for the time being, with the generalised concept, that the road of intelligence and flexible behaviour-patterns was increasingly rewarded with success and viability. However, a species, so rewarded by natural selection, becomes increasingly dependent upon these abilities, and, we see, then, a gradual rise in the need to explore, further, a trend, which nature had selected as an important experiment in the search for continued survival.

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Chapter 4

Content

Making use of a large range of food-stuffs sharpens the requirements of caution and intelligence.
An ever-expanding use of tools and weapons.
An existentially significant find would cause a flurry of excitement.
Many specific finds would be associated with a characteristic "activity".
A specific spontaneous movement or gesture begins to carry a specific communicative significance.
A mechanism that is closely related to the spontaneous re-enactment of a memory-trace.
The playful re-enactment of "real-life situations" by children.
The stage is being set for an epochal experiment with symbolic representation.
The characteristics of highly intelligent and alert, behaviourally flexible animals, with the same sense-organs as man.
Many ways in which a memory-recall could have been triggered.
A vivid stream of images during dream-sleep.
Making the recall of mental images more orderly and controled by the function of the "will", and the ability to evaluate logically.

Within this small, socially organised, family-unit, the level of communication must have become gradually more intense, because the level of dependence upon each other, as well as upon a large variety of specific items of existence, was increasing all the time. For example, man's ability to utilise a large range of different foods required a variety of methods to obtain them. We have discussed the hunt, and, how it became an increasingly complex, difficult and dangerous task, requiring an ever more intense cooperative effort, but, viability was also found in a wide range of edible fruits, berries, leaves and roots. This required careful experimentation; the ability to remember which were useful, and which were poisonous and made one sick. A great deal of intelligence went into the successful exploration of the gathering of edible foods, and, these abilities made man an omnivorous animal, par excellence.

Man's use of tools also expanded. At first, man would use almost any stick or a stone to aid in the hunt, the fight, or the defense, but, as man became more aware of the instantaneous advantages associated wth a useful tool or weapon, he must have started to search, actively, for the right kind of rock, stone or club. Again, later, we see the rise of deliberate efforts to manufacture such tools and weapons, because the "natural" supply of suitable tools and weapons would have been exhausted fairly quickly.

A large variety of findings and their corresponding sense-impressions arose, ranging from the sighting of something to eat or drink, a weapon or a tool, to finding a place to hide from danger, or, perhaps, a shelter against the weather. How do we visualise the communications about such a variety of awarenesses to have taken place? Initially, the methods would have been the same as those we have already described. An existentially significant find would arouse a flurry of excitement, and the difference between a positive and a negative "sighting" would be immediately clear, because a negative sighting would induce a sense of fear and a flight away, while a positive find would cause an excited running back and forth between the find and the place where other members of the community were gathered. There would be a "natural following" response by the other members, as they witnessed the excited behaviour of one of their fellow members. We have seen, that a "following response" is a basic characteristic for the flexible animals, especially, during childhood and adolescence, when the members of a behaviourally flexible species go a through period of behavioural programming.

So far, the techniques of communication are entirely "pre-symbolic", but, if we focus our attention and speculative imagination, specifically, upon the hominids, we see, that they were agile, swift and excitable creatures with long, prehensile arms. They could, not only, pick-up a stone, bone, club or stick, but, they could, also, make all sorts of movements and gesticulations. We assume, that these creatures picked-up, not only, objects, such as tools or weapons, but, they also used their arms and hands to pick-up food or leaves; to dig-up roots; to pick berries; to tear meat off a carcass, etc. Many existentially significant findings would, therefore, be associated with a characteristic "activity" that involved the arms and hands, or, even, the whole body, in a specific posture or movement, and, it does not seem too far-fetched to imagine, that an excited individual, who had seen or found something of value, would already carry-out a series of characteristic movements with his limbs in anticipation of the use of this find.

It is not difficult to imagine, that other members of the group would recognise what activity was being anticipated, and, it would, therefore, give the onlookers and followers already a good idea, what the find was all about. Here, we see a plausible mechanism, where a spontaneous movement or gesture is carrying a specific communicative signal, (completely un-intentional, of course), and this mechanism is a slightly different form of gesticulative communication compared to the spontaneous enactment of an event, resulting from an equally spontaneous memory-recall in the author of such a gesticulative re-enactment.

Perhaps, both mechanisms arose more or less simultaneously, as there is really no essential difference. It really does not matter, whether a specific enactment of a particular activity occurs as the result of a spontaneous memory-recall, or, as the result of a recent sighting of an actual event or item of existence. In either case, we are dealing with a vivid mental image that has found an expression in the mimicry and gesticulations of a member of the community.

As we have discussed many times before, we have considered such a spontaneous re-enactment of a mental image as the beginning of the art of symbolic representation, and, it seems likely, that such a spontaneous re-enactment was also associated with the anticipatory mimicry that would, nearly automatically, result from an important finding. It is likely, therefore, that a general state of positive excitement, communicated along the lines of emotional synchrony, acquired, at the same time, a more specific connotation by the specific anticipatory gesticulations of the excited member.

There is another aspect that may have facilitated the emergence of "representative gesticulative behaviour", especially, in view of the long period of learning these flexible animals were exposed to. We have seen, that, during the period of childhood and adolescence, behaviourally flexible youngsters "play a lot". During this time, they excercise, not only, their musculature and coordination, but, they also imitate the "real-life" situations they have witnessed. This playful re-enactment of activities that represent the primary tools for survival, is, probably, a genetically encoded form of behaviour, and, we should not assume, that these pre-human animals would "deliberately imagine" a particular play-like situation, as we see human children do, who have learned to speak.

However, it is likely, that the inborn tendency to play and mimic the real life situations of adult life, did facilitate the occurrence of a memory-recall and became an activity with the ability to evoke a specific memory-trace, in particular, if an analogous situation would have been experienced recently. We see, then, how the stage is being set for this epochal experiment with symbolic representation and a deliberate manipulation of memory-traces, which culminates, eventually, in the development of a spoken and written language. We see an active and varied flow of communications around an ever-increasing repertoir of existentially significant "findings", and, we have discussed the possibility of an additional degree of specificity in these communications by the occurrence of spontaneous, anticipatory movements. We have also seen, that these behaviourally flexible animals relied, already, to a large extent upon the ability to learn, to scan and categorise the sense impressions coming from their environment, and, to build-up a large experience-base or reservoir of memory-traces.

These pre-verbal ancestors of mankind were "intelligent" animals. This means, that they could finely tune their behaviour in accordance with temporary and quickly fluctuating opportunities. Consequently, these animals had to be "highly alert" and quickly responsive to apparently minor fluctuations and changes of the status-quo. We know, now, that they acquired an extensive memory-bank of recallable awarenesses, which was continuously "accessed" by the continuous flow of sensory data that are offered to the brain for processing. We also know, that the memory-banks of our pre-verbal ancestors must have contained a large number of categories, because agile, omnivorous and intelligent animals of contemporary species', still, have a large variety of experiences, sensations, sightings or awarenesses to deal with, each with their own specific existential meaning.

In short, it seems fair to say, that these pre-human animals possessed, already, all the cerebral capabilities which we still have now, without the apparatus that is specifically involved in the manipulation of speech-symbols, and, we know, now, that the human brain contains specific areas which are, primarily, involved in the perception, interpretation or formulation of speech-symbols, or "words".

Just as we, still, have an active mind, and experience, often, a spontaneous recall of memory-traces of significant events or circumstances, so is it not illogical to assume, that the pre-human anthropoids also experienced, often, a spontaneous recall of a particular event, without the triggering of such a recall by a specific act or re-enactment, and, without experiencing an appropriate analogous experience. However, there may be numerous items of existence, such as a piece of meat or bone, a hide, a tusk, a carcass or skeleton, a wound or injury, or, any tool or weapon that was instrumental in bringing-down a prey or defeating an enemy, which could have served as a "trigger" for an apparently spontaneous recall of a particular event.

We should not forget, that we have a tendency to recall memory-traces, or, to reflect upon what happened, whenever we relax for a moment, satiated after a good meal. Just before we fall asleep, we may have a vivid stream of mental images, which carries the awareness of our existence with them, and we "float-off" into a world of dream-sleep, where the image-recall is, or can be, even more lively, in spite of the fact, that we rarely remember more than only a few fragments of a dream. These fragments seem, on recollection, to be peculiarly disjointed and illogical in their sequence, their relations to each other, or the situations they portrayed.

All these arguments are brought to the fore in order to make it plausible, that man's image-recall was easily accomplished, and, that it would occur, often, spontaneously and haphazardly, but, nevertheless, impressively, especially, during a period of dream-sleep. Such a flow of spontaneous memory-recall could be triggered by seeing the remnants of a ferocious beast, the weapons which were used to slay the animal, or, the memories of an impressive recent event could be brought-back, together with their powerful emotions of fear and panic, or a deep sorrow and grief, by looking at someone, who had been seriously injured or killed.

Perhaps, it did not take an unusual effort to make this recall of mental images more orderly and more controled by the voluntary will, and, it is not too difficult to imagine the existential benefits that would come with a deliberate manipulation of the functions of image-recall. An orderly recall of mental images would be in sharp contrast with the haphazard, spontaneous, and, essentially, uncontrolled flow of images and their associated feelings and emotions, which would be emerging, so often, from their, and our, memory-banks, especially, during dream-sleep.

Indeed, it seems justified to compare the psychological and physical mechanisms of our early ancestors with our own, and, it gives us a feeling for the continuity of the evolutionary developments that have taken place. As you know, so well, these concepts form the most important elements for a modern interpretation of our own existence; at least, at this particular point in the history of mankind.

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Chapter 5

Content

An unobtrusive bridge between pre-human and human existence.
Most anthropoids existed in a precarious ecological niche.
Living in an atmosphere of continuous danger.
A reliance on the faculties of alertness and agility.
The rising importance of the ability to convey factual information.
The road of clever, manipulative behaviour.
Enhancing the ease of existence; an all-important reward.
The simultaneous developments of a behavioural complex, as well as a way of life.
A detailed, speculative look at the way anthropoids lived during this transition-period to becoming human.
The importance of sharing, collectively, a number of emotions.
Mitigating fears by expression, communication and "reflection".
Developing a measure of control over the perception of reality.
The rise of rituals and magical manipulations.
The road towards modern language-symbols.
The world of reality perceptions developed as a result of the evolution of special sense-organs and cerebral "processing mechanisms", required for the faculty of behavioural flexibility.
Sense impressions and experiences were "duplicated" through a system of symbolically represented awarenesses.
A look at the functions of a language.
Clarifying spatial and temporal relationships.
Words are "guides" to help us understand an event or a story with clarity and precision; what happened, who was inolved, how did it happen and what were the results.
The ability to "abstract" a large number of qualities or characteristics.
The role of a "common denominator".
The world of "intangibles".
A common framework of internal causes and their effects in the analysis of an event.
The creation of an "understood" field of forces.
Why we have to understand and control the emotion of "fear".

There we are; on the verge of crossing the bridge that separates pre-human and human evolution, and, yet, the event was so gradual, so unobtrusive and apparently so insignificant, that a keen observer of these times, (if such an observer could have been present), would probably have failed to discover any significant break-through which would clearly mark the beginning of the human species. For many generations, the situation would remain essentially the same; here and there, on widely separate occasions, an act of mimicry or gesticulation would take place, evoking a particular memory-trace in an on-looker, but, quickly, the event was forgotten, and, we would be hard-pressed to explain, why such an occurrence of memory- or image-recall would, eventually, become an essential and integral part of human existence, and shape the human way of life.

Indeed, we may, perhaps, get a better "feeling" for the importance of the evolutionary changes that were taking place, if we see these occasional and largely spontaneous occurrences of symbolic representation, in conjunction with the manner in which a small community of pre-human animals conducted its continuous struggle for existence. It is, indeed, not exaggerated to state, that these anthropoids existed in a precarious ecological niche, living at the edge between the great plains and the equally great forests. From either side, serious dangers threatened, as the anthropoids were master in neither environment. There were no absolutely secure hiding places; foraging for edible foods and berries was dangerous, as there were many animals that could cause great harm. There were, of course, the larger carnivores, which would have no hesitation to prey upon an anthropoid, but, there were also numerous smaller animals, poisonous snakes and insects, disease-causing organisms, as well as a large number of poisonous plants, berries, roots, fruits and leaves.

These anthropoids lived in an atmosphere of continuous danger, and, it took a keen, intelligent and quick-witted mind to recognise, and avoid, most of these dangers; and, yet, to gather sufficient food and find a safe place to bring-up the younger generations, was essential for survival. Agility and a flexibility of choice, including the ability to remember and recognise a large number of potential dangers, as well as potential benefits, were important criteria of viability, and, we see, that any trend in the art of communication that was able to sharpen the memory-traces of these anthropoids, would, indeed, be a great help towards increasing the level of control over the world of dangers and the possibilities of existence.

We have seen, that it became possible, by anticipatory gesticulations, to convey, more precisely, the nature of a find or observation, and, because of the need to have a firm knowledge of all the possible dangers to be avoided, as well as the possibilities to obtain something useful or edible, we may postulate, that, quickly, a sort of dependence formed upon the ability to convey some sort of "factual information".

We should mention, here, also, another important activity that may have emerged, simultaneously, with the developments we have described. Viability was enhanced, significantly, when proto-man discovered, that he could use his prehensile forelimbs to pull the cover of an animal's hide over himself. Even the most rudimentary forms of protective clothing, the building of a wind-break, or the ability to stay dry and warm during a cold and damp night, would have made a significant difference in the ability to survive. It would have made a significant difference in the ability to withstand the threat of disease and exposure during the colder seasons, or during periods of adversity caused by an accident or sickness.

In a way, this is part of the general "tool-handling trend", which is such an important concept in our efforts to visualise, how man became man, as well as a powerful, dominant life-form, while man lacked so many of the physiological and anatomical features that are usually associated with dominance, such as great strength or speed, size and power, or, the anatomical equipment of formidable weaponry, such as claws or fangs.

Obviously, once the road of clever manipulative behaviour with the help of tools, weapons and the manufacture of all sorts of implements had begun, man's survival, or, more precisely, the survival of those species', which, eventually, gave rise to the emergence of "Homo Sapiens", started to depend, more and more, upon the ability to make use of tools and implements, as well as on the ability to see and recognise opportunities for survival and avoid potential dangers and hazards.

We see, then, that symbolic representations emerged, gradually and naturally, as the extent and the precision of communications grew steadily in importance. These communications allowed the members to make better use of the opportunities that existed, and avoid potential or actual dangers. It also allowed an ever more sophisticated form of cooperation and specialisation in function. Experience showed these pre-human beings, totally subconsciously, of course, that the whole complex of "seeing possibilities", of communicating these possibilities amongst themselves, and, of trying-out new ways of doing things, enhanced their ease of existence, and, this all-important "reward" was the necessary stimulus to experiment, further, with the potentials of an intelligent and communicative way of life.

All these trends we have summarised, here, (such as a better way of hunting or gathering food, a better way to protect against exposure or dangers from predators, a better way to remember what was dangerous or poisonous and which food-stuffs were beneficial, a better way to divide tasks and chores), all these trends are summarised and enumerated as a series of separate concepts or developments, but, it is, probably, more advantageous to see this whole behavioural complex arise simultaneously.

Perhaps, we can summarise it even better, by saying, that the viability of these pre-human animal species' rose gradually, but significantly, every time a small community found "a better way" of doing things, and, this "better way" included, not only, a technological advance, but, also, an advance in the art of communication and social organisation. One aspect without the other does not really make much sense, as we can still see in our contemporary societies.

A clever innovation remains an isolated, and, perhaps, dubious benefit to the "inventor", if his discovery or invention is not tested, improved, modified and amplified by others. Such a process is not possible without adequate communications, and, if a particular technological advantage remains isolated to a small segment of the community, it tends to disrupt the social harmony. Only, if a technical innovation, or a better way of doing things, is extensively tested and communicated, and its benefits shared, only, then, do we see a rise in viability for this particular grouping.

If we look at the numerous small groupings of nomadically existing anthropoids, we can visualise, how these groups were continuously adapting their way of life, as well as their way of surviving, by quickly changing their habits with changing environmental circumstances. As we have discussed, such quick changes in behaviour depended upon the collective memory-traces and recallable experiences of the group, as well as the alertness and innovativeness of individual members, and, it did not depend, anymore, on genetic instructions, because, as we have discussed, many of the seasonal and climatological changes were, and still are, too rapid for the genetic code to respond to.

However, the art of communication has, probably, other origins, besides the rise in viability that comes with the ability to make something useful, or, to see and exploit, more efficiently, a naturally given opportunity or advantage. The expression of vivid mental images, as well as the collective re-living of existentially significant experiences, may also have important psychological or emotional benefits.

The feelings of success, triumph or just simple well-being can be amplified by such a shared and collectively expressed emotion, and, collectively shared fears or anxieties may be mitigated by such an expression, in particular, if the act of reliving a fear or danger is associated with some sort of an experience that anticipates a way to overcome the obstacles or dangers that lie behind these negative emotions. Here, we see the beginning of an act of manipulative control, designed, totally subconsciously, of course, to subdue fears, and, to excercise a measure of control over the processes of perceiving reality. However, we should not forget, that, this is already a sophisticated expression or use of the ability to communicate symbolically.

Before we discuss, more in detail, the behavioural features of rituals and magic, which are so characteristic of the practice of primitive religious belief-structures, we should, first, turn our attention to the question, how the art of symbolic representation progressed, because, so far, we have seen, that, the only thing that happens as a result of a particularly vivid and effective act of gesticulation, is the emergence, or recall, of a particular memory-trace into a focus of awareness of the onlookers. However, we know, quite well, that our own experiences of verbal or language communication do not, as a rule, evoke a particular memory-event. The words and other language symbols in use are associated with a particular meaning, concept or idea, and, often, the meaning is complex and sophisticated, but, at the same time, variable and vague. Sometimes, a word can have several, unrelated connotations, and, the meaning of a word has to be clarified by the context in which it is being used.

Let us try to trace this momentous development, where a symbol that is originally capable of recalling a significant memory-trace or event, evolves into the modern use of language symbols, where a quick flow of auditory or recorded signals is capable of tracing a complex tapistry of meanings, ideas, concepts and motivations, which are rarely related to a specific, personal experience or memory-trace.

We have argued, before, that an existentially significant experience is likely to come back, spontaneously, into the focus of our attention, as we reflect upon a narrow escape or a lucky break, and, we have seen, that such a significant event is, probably, easily recalled by some sort of an act of mimicry, by an object this is still part of the contemporary surroundings, or by the results of such a significant event, or, by the gestures and vocalisations of other members.

However, we have also discussed a parallel line of thought, where symbolic representation developed as an aid to the location of a significant find. Indeed, we can state the following; the world of reality experiences, which developed as a result of the presence of special sense-organs and cerebral computer mechanisms, is slowly being "duplicated" by a system of symbolically recallable awarenesses. This means, that the ability to evoke a specific imagery of a particularly useful item, such as food, water, a tool, or useful stone, stick or bone, etc. is quickly followed by a number of representations that indicate the location of an item in a specific, spatially organised environment.

If we look, again, at the capabilities of a modern language, we see, that, indeed, the mechanisms of orientation play an enormously important role in our language communications. For example, if we talk to each other, and, if we convey some sort of information, an experience, a happening, or a story, we see, that we have to describe a number of personalities, and, we have to introduce a number of items of existence which are important to the story. Then, we have to indicate a large number of "orienting data". We have to specify, where, and when, a particular event took place. We describe, of course, "what" took place, but, in order for an event to be intelligible for the audience, we have to indicate, what happened, to whom; who did what; what sort of relationships existed between the people involved, as well as between the other items of existence, etc., etc.

In other words; just as the reality of our non-verbalised physiological sense impressions takes shape in an environment that has spatial dimensions and is related to a time-frame, so is the parallel world of our communicable and symbolically representable awarenesses, also framed by a large number of details and indicators, clarifying spatial and temporal relationships, as well as the relationships between peoples, objects and events. It is, therefore, not surprising to see, that a very large number of verbal symbols function as a "directional guide", which help us to understand, with clarity and precision, what happened; who was involved; how it all came-about, and, what were the ultimate consequences of the events we have focussed our attention upon.

In addition to the directional signals, or orientation signals in our language, we have also developed an elaborate vocabulary that lets us describe personalities, events, happenings and relationships, including a variety of emotions and feelings, such as fears and hopes. This has been made possible by the fact, that we are able to "abstract" a large number of qualities or characteristics from the many categories into which our verbalisable awarenesses have been fitted. As we have described before, the mental classification systems are a necessary and remarkable parallel development of the cerebral classification systems. The use of symbolic representations would be impossible without a system of reference, because we could only remember, and manipulate, a small number of these awarenesses, especially, if they are not connected by classifying principles into comprehensive categories.

By classifying a number of symbols according to a common denominator, we can learn to use a large number of such representative symbols, and, we are not compelled to remember a large number of apparently unrelated symbols, but, we group them together, according to a common feature. Slowly, this common feature may find a separate existence as a symbolically representable common denominator, and, we have, then, witnessed the birth of an "abstraction". This may be the awareness of a "quality". For example, a number of objects may share a particular quality, e.g., the hardness of stone, or, they may share a specific colour, a particular form of usefulness, a texture, etc. They may share the quality of being edible or drinkable, being dangerous and to be avoided; being pleasurable or advantageous, etc.

On previous occasions, we have discussed these developments more in detail, and, we will not repeat the arguments, here. Let us only remind ourselves, that the whole world of the so-called "intangibles", (the word-symbols or concepts which do not seem to exist except as a feature or characteristic of something else), have been developed as "classifying principles", and, eventually, these classifying principles have become a separate concept and became communicable with the help of their own word-symbol.

The world of sensations and feelings, of psychological and physiological possibilities of distinction, as well as the world of cause-and-effect, is related to the development of the ability to abstract a common feature. Let us concentrate, in the following chapter, on two important aspects; the first one, is a further classifying action of the mind, as events are also grouped together, not only, on the basis of external similarities, but, also, on the basis of a common frame-work of internal causes and their effects.

The second development we like to high-light, is the extrapolation of a series of causes and effects, or stories of "what happened", which are put-together into a framework of anthropomorphic force-fields. This sort of explanation arose, when man realised, that there was a limit to the environment he could know; at least, he perceived a great sense of awe in the fact, that at all sides the "known world" seemed to slide into a dangerous world of the unknown. Because man became somewhat successful in unraveling the phenomena and events of the familiar environment with a system of "understood" force-fields, man tried to extrapolate this knowledge of what happened and how things came-about, by applying this same framework of explanations to the periphery of the known world, which was surrounded, on all sides, by this wide and frightening unknown.

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Chapter 6

Content

An intuitive appreciation for the connection between action and result.
Experiencing the initiation of a particular act as a "voluntary decision".
The anthropomorphic interpretation of force-fields.
Explaining happenings and events on the basis of spiritual powers.
An appreciation for the feature of regularity and predictability.
Why the accident, or unusual happening, is singled-out for an explanation.
A useful trend towards generalising and de-mythologising our experiences.
Man learned to see many similarities, or common denominators, between a large variety of events.
The search for manipulative control over our circumstances.
The continuing struggle between anthropomorphic and "natural" cause and effect relationships.

From an early stage in the development of his awarenesses and tool-handling capabilities, man must have sensed, at least, intuitively, that there was a connection between his actions and the following events. If man was hungry or thirsty, he went-out and looked for something to eat, or, he looked for a brook to lessen his thirst, and, in particular, the hunt of another animal must have brought home the awareness, that man could cause deliberately the death of another creature.

A large part of man's world of experiences was, and still is, centered around a series of actions, which were, in essence, prompted by his existential needs. However, man would, often, experience the initiation of a particular act as a "voluntary decision", and, he must have become aware of the fact, that his actions could be helpful to others, if he was protecting his family or helping someone who got sick or wounded, or, his actions could be harmful, or, even, lethal, if he was engaged in a hunt, or an all-out fight with an enemy.

Obviously, man learned, slowly, to abstract the concepts of "force" and "action", as well as causes and their effects, but, we see, especially, in the more primitive religious reality perceptions, that man considered this ability to do someting, to act, to exert a force, to move something, to kill or to protect, as the basis for all the phenomena of movement and change. Man was surrounded by large animals and competitors, who, together, formed the gravest threat to his existence, and, it is logical, therefore, that an occasional climatological disaster, a flood, a lightning- or thunder-storm, an earth-quake or a forest-fire were also attributed to some unknown and unseen creature with awesome powers.

We have discussed, before, the fact, that man always interpreted the realities of movement and change in an "anthropomorphic" manner, where the powers behind the phenomena of nature were thought to be the result of actions of living creatures, which could, also, deliberately help or harm someone, just like man himself. The cause and effect relationship was, therefore, almost always centered around the actions of living entities, but, man must also have noted more subtle correlations, which were usually taken for granted, or accepted as "the norm", because of a great consistency or familiarity with a particular correlation.

For example, if man picked up a fair-sized stone which happened to fit well in his hand, he could exert a far more effective and powerful blow, compared to a blow with his fist or bare hand. Similarly, the use of a club or a stick would, suddenly, enable him to do things, which were out of reach without such tools, and, man must have noted, many, many times, the advantages of possessing a sharp-edged stone; because he could, then, handle and cut-up a carcass, clean a hide, or shape a branch or stick into a particularly useful form. The reasons for these changes in effect, caused by the use of weapons and tools, must have remained unclear, or, they were, perhaps, attributed to "magical" or spiritual forces. Such would be in line with his generally anthropomorphic reality perceptions.

The great regularity and predictability of correlations between causes and effects, probably meant, that man gave these phenomena little thought and scrutiny, and, this brings us to the important observation, that all living organisms, man included, tend to take a familiar status-quo for granted. Attention is, then, only paid to phenomena that are unpredictable, or irregular. If a sharp-edged stone will always cut well, then, there is little practical reason to wonder or ponder the reasons, why, and, if any object falls to the ground when it is released, the phenomenon is so familiar, that it does not stimulate any particular thought or awareness.

Only, if someone hurts himself; if someone falls out of a tree or is injured by an object, etc., only then, is the phenomenon of gravity noted, but, it is not perceived in its relation to the universal and always present force of gravitational attraction. The accident is singled-out as a specific event, and, it is likely to be interpreted in an anthropomorphic manner. This means, that, either, a spirit has been offended and is retaliating, (which is the solution of taking the responsibility and cause of an unfavourable event upon oneself), or, it is attributed to a hostile force, but, then, the question has to be answered, why the force is hostile, and, how it can be placated.

Only, very slowly, probably, not before man learned to live together in a larger social environment, and became aware of the fact, that the interpretations of the apparent reality would differ from one community to the next, only, then, perceptive and thoughtful individuals would develop the notion, that a large variety of conflicting reality perceptions and interpretations, must mean, that none of them were infallible, and, that it may be possible to formulate a way of looking at reality which was more "generalised" and would take some of the anthropomorphic arbitrariness out of these observations and interpretations.

Another important development contributed to a trend whereby the interpretation of reality was slowly "demythologised". As the societies became larger and more secure, and, as they allowed more specialised functions, intelligent and reflective members must have been drawn to the manufacture of more complicated tools and weapons, as well as a host of other devices and technical manipulations, which would enhance security, shelter, comfort and viability. As soon as man started to experiment, deliberately, with new ways of doing things, or making implements, man experienced a direct relationship beween the shape of a tool and its function. This awareness would greatly enhance the predictability of a particular result, as man became aware of the fact, that the success or usefulness of a particular tool depended upon the way it had been made and put to use, and not, on the benevolence or malice of a spirit, which would inhabit or control such a tool.

To come back upon the classifying functions of the mind; slowly, man learned to see similarities between events, in particular, those, which were highly regular and predictable, and, which were, therefore, less likely to be interpreted in an anthropomorphic manner. Similarly, we see a classification of events on the basis of external similarities and regularly recurring patterns. This means, then, that the course of an event became "predictable", if it was possible to recognise the onset of a happening and predict its outcome according to the general outcome of a particular class of events.

The recurrence of day and night, the tides, the alternation between dry and wet periods, or seasons, all these regularly recurring events became somewhat predictable, and, it was, therefore, important to recognise these events. Yet, these "macroscopic events" were existentially so important, and, they seemed so much beyond the control of man, that an anthropomorphic interpretation was always invoked, but, the predictability of recurring cycles encouraged attempts to increase predictability, or, to "manipulate" the forces behind these events; by attempts to placate them with sacrificial offerings and magical rituals.

On the other hand, the experience that caution would help against injuring or cutting oneself, or being hurt by a fall or a stumble, encouraged the interpretation, that a direct relationship existed between man's actions and the results of these actions, and, it encouraged the idea, that the outcome of man's actions depended a great deal on the thoughtful care he took to "visualise", or predict, the results of individual actions.

Still, the interpretation prevailed, that, harmful or beneficial results were caused by protective or maliciously inclined spiritual forces which guided these events, but, a perceptive individual would come to the momentous conclusion, now and then, that the results of his actions could be harmful or beneficial, depending upon the care he took to guide his actions and understand the details of a complex chain of natural causes with their natural and predictable results.

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Chapter 7

Content

Conclusions obtained from rational observations.
Remarkable powers of observation and analysis.
The conclusion of "having made an error".
A framework of "natural laws" or principles of operation.
Our recent scientific era represents a crowning of the faculties of rational observations and logical conclusions.
Dealing with phenomena that seem to defy an analysis in non-anthropomorphic terms.
A web of assumptions and apparent certainties.
The three levels of "input"; specific schooling, personal observations, and culturally absorbed beliefs and opinions.
A "personal way" of practicing a scientific discipline.
Defining the nature of a superstition.
Psychological needs are often filled with superstitious beliefs.
The value of "scientific schooling".
Placing a "personal touch" upon a point of view.
We need a solid foundation of facts for an awareness, observation or discussion.
The capability of "rational behaviour" does not depend upon the faculties of conceptual awareness.
An animal can behave rationally.
The zone of emotional near-neutrality.
Careful analysis of an existing situation is possible through verbal, as well as non-verbal means.
The fragile zone of emotional neutrality.
Hope and fear indicate the nature of our expectations.
A vague, but persistent, existential anxiety.
The function of caution or "prudence".
The importance of keeping our options open.
The attitude of "hope".
The attitude of hope must have a rational basis in order to be sustainable.
The advantages of a belief that has overcome the riddles of death and injustice.
Why hope may flare on the vaguest of rumors.
The consequences of a chronic, but not overwhelming stress.
Stress always affects the processes of rational evaluation.
We have a tendency to rationalise our bellicose attitudes.
When our rational faculties have "given-up hope" of surviving the stressful situation of the present.

Slowly, the attitudes and behaviour-patterns of "rationality" emerged. These are based, in essence, on the experience, and observation, that the results of our actions become more predictable as we analyse and understand, better, what is going-on. Rationality is the conclusion, that it is possible to understand the mechanisms of an event, because the forces that are operative in events, are, in essence, "steady" and predictable. Rational people came to the conclusion, that they did not have to fall, if they were careful in climbing and did not venture onto limbs that were too fragile to support their weight; that they did not have to hurt themselves using their tools, if they were careful and looked what they were doing.

These attitudes fostered the remarkable powers of observational analysis and conceptual synthesis, where many events, in particular those of the familiar, every-day world, could be analysed in a series of causes and their effects. These events turned-out to be regularly recurring phenomena, which were not influenced by unseen spirits. The attitude of rationality became, eventually, strong enough to withstand an occasional surprise outcome. In stead of reverting back to an anthropomorphic explanation, the rational attitude came to the conclusion, that one must have been mistaken, or mis-informed, about the mechanisms that were actually taking place, and, the chain of causes and effects must be more complex than was initially thought.

The world of everyday experience provided many opportunities for close scrutiny, repeated verification and experiment, and, it is, therefore, logical, that this world was the first to yield to man's efforts to impose a framework of "natural laws" upon the sphere of reality perceptions and experiences. Those phenomena, which occurred "far away", were, probably, of a different nature and could not be subjected to intense scrutiny or experimentation. They yielded, therefore, only slowly to man's efforts to rationalise the entire world of his perceptions. Indeed, man's initial attempts to form concepts of causes and effects, ran quickly into problems, because the chain of explanatory mechanisms seemed always to break-down.

Only in our scientific times, have we been able to construct a mental framework of basic building-blocks, which can be verified, over and over again, by appropriate scientific techniques, and, yet, even so, the nature of matter, or matter-energy, remains a controversial subject, which loses itself in speculations and a strange world of sub-atomic dimensions. The living organisation with its baffling behaviour-patterns, its birth, growth and death, as well as its peculiarly willed and arbitrary behavioural responses, remained, for a long time, refractory to the scrutinies of rational analysis and thought. Only recently, have we been able to unify the mechanisms of causes and their effects in the worlds of the living and the non-living organisation.

Let us come back to the classification of events. A coherent framework of cause and effect relationships excercised, eventually, a profound influence upon the way man interpreted the realities of his existence, as well as everything else he was aware of, but, the "larger world"; the world of that which is "unknown" and touches upon the mysteries of life and death, remained, very much, under the influence of an anthropomorphic interpretation. This included man's nature, his motivations and his behaviour; his experiences of suffering and death; the miracle of birth; the question, what happens to man after death; the phenomena of dream appearances in the relatives and friends of someone, who had died recently, etc. All these phenomena seemed to defy an analysis in non-anthropomorphic force-fields, even, if it became possible to see "logical" , and, therefore, predictable patterns of behaviour by those essentially spiritual or willed forces that controled such large parts of nature. If we keep these trends in mind, we can see, clearly, how man's beliefs developed, and, why rationalisation or strict predictabilty on the basis of non-voluntary or non-arbitrary cause and effect relationhips, never managed to conquer the entire world of our awarenesses and experiences.

What, then, are "beliefs", or belief-structures, and, how do they tie-in with man's motivations and emotions? I would like to define a structure of beliefs, as this web of assumptions and certainties which froms a guiding framework for the classification of our experiences. While a belief functions, primarily, as a framework for the classification of our experiences, we should not forget, that it has enormous consequences for our behavioural choices as well.

Such a definition does not specify, whether the assumptions and beliefs are the result of scientific scrutiny, or the acceptance of traditional beliefs with a religious and anthropomorphic structure of explanation. Nor does it specify, whether the assumptions and beliefs are private inventions or conclusions, based upon our particular experiences, or, generally accepted structures of explanation. If we analyse our beliefs in some detail, we come to the conclusion that we form a mixture of all three types of "input". Scientific schooling, the fruits of personal observations, as well as the acceptance of traditional beliefs and opinions. If we have been thoroughly schooled in a scientific discipline, we will, of course, be strongly influenced in our behaviour and observations by the school of thought in which we have been educated, and, yet, we retain, also, a structure of beliefs and asumptions, which has been absorbed as a "cultural code" during childhood and adolescence.

Interestingly, the third aspect of "personal observations" is visible in the way, we, as scientists, keen observers or professionally schooled people, develop a personal way of "practicing" a scientific discipline or profession, and, we see, then, a structure of emphasis emerge, where particular likes and dislikes, or "accents of importance", become quite characteristic for the view-point of a particular individual. People, who have not had the benefit of a thorough exposure to the sciences, will remain much more under the influence of their particular cultural locale, and, we see, often, a florid growth of beliefs and assumptions by uneducated or "locally coloured" people. Such beliefs take, often, the appearance of a "superstition".

A superstition is a set of beliefs and assumptions that is not shared by the more orthodox cultures of a particular social environment, but, the fact, that superstitions arise and flourish, must mean, that they are "easy", or, even logical to believe in, especially, in view of the limited education and mental discipline of the local people who believe in such superstitions. It must, therefore, fulfill an important psychological function, or, it must be an expression of "simple logic" that is not "clouded" by more sophisticated considerations. However, the boundaries between religious beliefs and superstitions are vague, just as the boundaries of science and science-fiction or pseudo-scientific beliefs may be vague. Many superstitions are somewhat archaic or primitive remnants of beliefs and interpretations, which were, at one time, part of an established cultural or religious tradition.

The value of scientific schooling lies, not only, in the fact, that people are exposed to a more thorough and essentially verifiable structure of reality interpretations, but, if taught well, the scientific methodology provides a schooling in rational and disciplined behaviour, where we learn to orden our thoughts and beliefs, and, to evaluate our impulses and psychological tendencies, before we jump to conclusions or other impulsive behavioural acts. Only, if we are able to structure a fairly coherent and sophisticated framework of beliefs and assumptions, can we become fully aware of the differences between the known, the hypothesis, and the unknown.

We will not re-iterate, here, the essential assumptions of relativistic thought, which sees a "certainty", only, as a particular imagery or concept that has received a remarkable degree of acceptance and agreement, without ever being anything more than a human idea or concept. Only, if we know, quite precisely, what is "certain", what is "known", and, what is a hypothesis which has found a great deal of acceptance, (but may, nevertheless, be disputed by other influential groups of scientific workers), only, then, can we confidently sort fact from fiction, superstition from reliable beliefs and worthwhile assumptions. Only then, can we distinguish between an assumption that merits thought and debate, and an assumption that is erroneous and useless, because it leads to a blind alley and is easily refuted.

The ability to discuss and place a "personal touch" upon a point of view, is based on a clear mental imagery that includes a precise awareness of what is known, what is hypothesis, and, what is not known by the individual; what is not known, or, not yet known, by the scientific community, or, what can not be known. Such a clear distinction of the various categories of mental images, as well as the ability to bring these differences under words, may be appealing and convincing to other people, especially, if this mental imagery has been developed logically, step by step, with a strong inner coherence. If we do not have a coherent reality perception, our particular view-points and beliefs rest on chance-contacts and haphazard experiences. Then, our particular way of believing and looking at reality, will appear arbitrary and haphazard, and, it will fail to be convincing, because it lacks a solid foundation of discussion, awareness and observation.

However, as we mentioned before, the function of a belief is, only, in part, used to orden our sense impressions and to construct a coherent and logical view of the realities that surround us. To a large extent, our beliefs are the foundation upon which we construct a behavioural response. Certainly, we also have a strong instinctive and emotional framework of guidelines, profiling the overall outlines of our behaviour-patterns, and, we have seen, how our behaviour can be classified according to the three existential poles, or centers of concern, which organise our behaviour instinctively.

Yet, the fact that we have entered upon the road of behavioural flexibility, means, that, behaviourally flexible animals have come to rely, increasingly, on their ability to vary their behavioural response in such a way, that they become or remain "finely tuned" to the circumstances of the moment. This means, that their behaviour is brought under the control of an existentially equally important capability; nl., the ability to accurately sense and interpret the prevailing circumstances in the light of past experiences, and, in the light of behaviour-patterns that have been adopted as viable examples from the social environment.

This is the capability of "rationality", as we outlined before, and, I feel, that it is worthwhile to separate the concept of rational behaviour from verbalisable or conceptual awareness. An animal, in particular, a highly intelligent and flexible mammal, or anthropoid, can also behave "rationally", or, it can behave in a more instinctive or "emotional" manner.

Rational behaviour seems to work best, if the emotional and instinctive drives are kept under control, and, we have, therefore, postulated that rational behaviour takes place in a zone of "emotional near-neutrality". This does not mean, that the outcome of rational behaviour does not have serious, or, even, vitally important consequences for the behaving organism. It certainly does, and, this is one of the reaons, why the zone of emotional neutrality, as well as the capabilities of rational analysis, are so labile; so fragile; so easily replaced by a more emotional form of behaviour.

The crux of rational behaviour, regardless, whether it is pre-conceptual behaviour or symbolically represented behaviour, lies in the fact, that the behavioural response is, almost exclusively, determined by a refined analysis of the existing situation, as well as a careful balancing act between the positive and negative evaluations arising from any complex situation. This capability has been developed in the conceptualising and verbalising human being to the point, that there is an ability to formulate a series of careful, verbalisable evaluations, as well as a series of discussions, which weigh the contradictory elements of a particular situation against each other.

As we have seen in previous discussions, this does not mean, that the verbalising organism can make all its decisions based upon such a conscious and rational evaluation, because the existential significance of a great many factors will have to be assigned by intuition, since it is impossible to trace all the ramifications of the decision-making processes into the sphere of conscious and verbalised awareness.

The point we want to make, here, is the fact, that, nearly all our behavioural decisions, regardless, whether they are rational, intuitive or emotional in nature, have an existential significance; at least, sooner or later, the significance of our choices will become apparent, and, it is, therefore, impossible to avoid "being aroused" by our fears and hopes, as we formulate, to the best of our knowledge and abilities, a particular behavioural response. We may ask ourselves, therefore, what the role and origin is of our emotions or feelings of hope and fear, and, what sort of an influence these emotions have upon the choice or construction of our framework of beliefs.

Hope, as well as fear, are an indication of our expectations about what the future may hold, and, we have discussed, on previous occasions, how important the aspect of correct anticipation has become for intelligent, flexible behaviour. As a result of the ability to recall memory-traces voluntarily, man's capabilities to register the past and anticipate the future has enlarged enormously. This enlargement of the sphere of awareness is directly responsible for the "knowledge of death", and, it is also responsible for this chronic, deep-seated and peculiarly human characteristic of a vague but persistent existential anxiety, which is not based upon the fear for a specific mishap or misfortune.

This deep and vague existential anxiety is based on one of those few "absolute certainties" that have arisen as a result of the awareness of a vastly expanded time-frame; nl., the knowledge that we all die, sooner or later, as well as the near-certainty that our death is preceded, in all probability, by a period of decline, ill health, infirmity and suffering.

Logically, man has become very sensitive to the indicators for future developments, because he can read them as extrapolations from pevailing trends or existing circumstances. Often, however, the signs are not clear, but contradictory and confusing. If we come to the conclusion, that the prevailing trend is negative and not to our advantage, we will, naturally, experience a heightened level of anxiety and fear. The function of fear, or, rather, in its milder and more useful froms of apprehension and concern, is to make us work harder to avoid such a down-hill trend.

Indeed, caution, prudence, as well as a host of similar attitudes, show us, how much we can do to avoid trouble, if we are willing to acknowledge the potentially disastrous or disadvantageous outcome of a particular trend. We should keep in mind, however, that such a feeling of apprehension or fear is only useful, if we have, indeed, a variety of behavioural options at our disposal. These options should have a good chance to halt, or avoid, such a disadvantageous development, at least, according to our anticipatory evaluations. If we do not have a variety of options, fear may become excessive and slide into a panic, where we resort to primitive, instinctive, and, often, counter-productive responses, or, we tend to suppress fear and convert it into an attitude of "hope", where we expect, with a high level of emotional fervor, rather than on the basis of sound, rational evaluations, that the trends of the future will be to our advantage, and not to our detriment.

The function of the attitude of hope is obvious. We suppress the tendency to a useless, or, even, dangerous panic, and, we mitigate the fatiguing and paralysing feelings of an intense anxiety. By adopting an attitude of hope, we breathe, again, some sense into an expectation of the future that will be more pleasant than the one we are in now, and, by adopting such an attitude of hope, we increase, often, to an amazing extent, our ability to resist stress. However, the attitude of hope must have a rational or intellectually acceptable basis, otherwise, the attitude will, eventually, be rejected as deceitful, and, the enormous efforts needed to resist the stressful situation of the present, will then be felt to have been wasted and futile.

Here, we see the advantages of a belief that has overcome the riddles of death and injustice. If our culture has taught us, that there is a God, Who can help us when we are in distress, and, Who will punish the wicked and elevate the faithful to a position of glory and bliss after death, then, we see, that such a belief may evoke an enormously high level of resistance to stress. Actually, stress fuels, then, such a belief, because it is interpreted as a testing period, which will make the Heavenly Rewards even greater.

Therefore, the attitude of hope is based, most often, upon some sort of a religious belief, especially, if all rational evaluations fail to show any reasonable grounds for such an attitude of hope. Yet, the human mind can become remarkably selective in its rational evaluations. If there is no faith to fall-back upon, or, if such an attitude is painful and resisted for a variety of reasons, the evaluation processes may be "tampered with", largely subconsciously, of course. In order not to come to a paralysing conclusion of fear or a dismal outlook, we may strongly accentuate any positive aspect and neglect, or discount, the obvious, and, perhaps, strongly negative stimuli, that are, there, for anyone to see, who has an open mind.

This leads to an attitude, where hope flares on the vaguest of rumors, and, obviously, the function of hope is to keep "the spirit alive"; to avoid a feeling of total helplessness, which may lead to a severe depression and an inability to prolong the fight against a chronic, but not overwhelming stress. Yet, such a tampering with the rational evaluation of a situation diminishes our grip over reality, and, if we practice such a distorted, non-religious presentation of reality, we convey an attitude and impression of "propaganda" or unfounded hope, which is irritating and certainly not convincing.

We come to the conclusion, then, that any sort of stressful situation will affect the processes of rational evaluation. If we are in a position of stress, where we have a significant range of options, or, the "freedom" of choice to break-out of a situation of stress, we may actively fight the deteriorating circumstances by taking corrective measures. However, if our options are limited, such as in captivity, our rational evaluations tend to induce a chronic sense of futility and frustration, which is an intolerable burden of extra stress. If we do not have the ability to become absorbed in some sort of useful activity, we have to resort to an attitude of hope, which may be based partly upon a religious conviction, and, partly, upon a subtle bias or selectivity in the mechanisms of our evaluation processes.

However, we may state with a certain degree of finality, (without falling into the trap of trying to proclaim absolute certainties), that, any form of stress will interfere with the ability to construct finely tuned, sophisticated and flexible belief-structures. If we are subjected to the stress of social polarisation and an impending battle, our attitudes harden; our beliefs become more rigid; in particular, the judgements of right an wrong become more rigid and stereotyped. We are sliding, then, into a situation, where only armed conflict can resolve the tensions. These tensions are relieved as the combatants are slowly weakened and bleed to death. Then, the combative instincts will have spent themselves, and, indeed, we behave, then, instinctively, because our rational functions are used to "rationalise" our bellicose attitudes.

In summary; in times of chronic stress, there is a strong need to accentuate the positive, and, the feelings of fear are only useful and productive, if we still have a choice to adopt a more cautious and prudent course of action. No wonder, our beliefs and assumptions are continuously tugged and pulled, pushed and cajoled by our emotions and existential anxieties. Time and again, existential concerns will override the conclusions of rational behaviour, and, perhaps, it is, indeed, the most serious weakness of rational behaviour, that it seems to diminish our resistance to stress, as well as our ability to overcome stressful situations, if, and when, our rational faculties have "given up" the hope of surviving the stressful circumstances we have to cope with.

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Chapter 8

Content

Adapting to a situation of competitive strife.
The temptation to isolate ourselves.
The mechanisms of socialisation and competitive strife are always at work, often, simultaneously.
How to initiate a fruitful dialogue on a global scale.
Man's survival has become solidly based on the presence, as well as the further development, of the ability to communicate conceptually.
A fragile and disjointed cultural code.
Man always had to cope with the ambivalent consequences of every conceptual or technological innovation.
The speed of factual communications has been increasing rapidly.
A look at the empires of the past.
A lot of hard, conceptual work lies ahead of us.
We have learned, to some extent, how to avoid accidents with dangerous tools and weapons.
The danger of black-mail by a lunatic fringe.
Living with the possibility of a global catastrophe.
The need to control the behaviour-patterns of our leaders.
At the present time, there is an insufficient synchronisation of ideas and language-symbols to make communications on a global scale fruitful.

In the final pages of this essay, we should examine, once again, this basic choice in our attempts to adapt to competitive strife, which has also a remarkable influence upon the make-up of our beliefs and assumptions. As we have discussed, on so many occasions, we will always have to address this same fundamental question; do we seek security and survival in a process of socialisation and inter-dependence, or, do we seek security by isolating ourselves; by "walling-off", and defending ourselves, militarily, against envy and attack. As we have seen, we come always back to the remarkable conclusion, that man has to choose between the same basic alternatives.

In essence, these apparently mutually exclusive and contradictory mechanisms of socialisation and competitive strife are at work together. We always seek security in some sort of a social organisation, because we all know, that, alone, we are vulnerable. However, we seem to be so reluctant to extend the principle of socialisation and integration to a truly large, or, even, global scale.

As soon as we, and our political leaders, think, that the social unit can be defended against attack, we will, invariably, choose the route of military might; of armed conflict, of isolation, together with a defensive "walling-off", where the national interests are safeguarded by a military superiority. Then, thousands, hundreds of thousands, and, even, millions of ordinay, good-willing, well-integrated and socially responsible citizens are, eventually, goaded by the war-hysteria of their country, and the fervent exhortations of their leaders, to destroy each other in a devastating and utterly senseless carnage of warfare.

Let us see, then, where language communication, rational evaluations, as well as behavioural fine-tuning, can help us to conduct a dialogue with each other, so that we can seek security and fulfilment in a process of world-wide socialisation and integration, and, where we can convince our leaders that they should be in the forefront of encouraging a process of social integration between the nations of the world. Let our leaders, then, exhaust their combative instincts by formulating and maintaining a code of global justice and essential equality, and, let us hope, and do everything possible, to make our leaders fight pollution and environmental dangers, rather than each other.

If we look at human evolution in a broad perspective, we see, that the ability of symbolic representation and language communication developed, because there was a use for it, and, eventually, a need for it. This, of course, is the general principle of every evolutionary development, because a particular ability or function could not become shaped and accentuated into the genetic code, unless such a development was rewarded with an increased level of viability. We have seen, that the evolution of langage communications is, not only, an extention of the ability of symbolic memory-recall, but, we know, now, that such a process of voluntary and manipulable recall is, in itself, an outflow of the road of behavioural flexibility.

I believe, that most people can agree with the statement, that memory-recall, symbolic representation, as well as the tools of language communication, have become so important, that man's ability to survive has become solidly based upon these abilities. Without language, we could not have a sophisticated grasp over the realities confronting us, and, without this grasp, we could not have any of the scientific and technological innovations upon which our survival is now so dependent.

Throughout the evolution of mankind, and, in particular, in the changes of his way of life and his social structure, we see, how man became increasingly dependent upon a sophisticated cultural code, which needs the tools of language to be effective in any type of social environment, and to be successfully transmitted one from generation to the next.

We have also seen, how fragile and fragmentary this cultural code is, and, how easily it becomes defective and perverted, so that it hastens rather than prevents social decay. Just as any other tool, the tool of language is a two-edged sword, which can harm as well as help. Language may be the vital ingredient of a reality perception upon which we have staked our survival, but, at the same time, language can be used by clever manipulators to deceive us, and to bring-about behavioural choices and attitudes that lead to our demise, rather than our survival.

Man always had to live with the ambivalent consequences of each and every innovation or tool, and, we will have to continue to do so. What has changed, is the sphere of influence exerted by the success or failure of a particular tool or innovation. In the earlier stages, an innovative development would favour a small social grouping, and, a failure, or a perverse use of such an innovation, would lead to the demise of a small group of human beings.

On a global scale, it would take many thousands, perhaps, even, hundreds of thousands of years, before a significant cultural innovation had worked its way through the entire species of man, and, the processes of natural selection had ample time to weed-out the unviable cultural choices. Battles and conflicts tended to weaken a population locally, only to give another center of growth a chance to emerge and flex its muscles. But, increasingly, the rate of cultural spreading and the rate of behavioural change has been accelerating. In stead of pockets of human beings prospering or declining in the struggle for survival, and testing a new way of life, the fate of all human beings is becoming tied-together, where the members of the species of mankind will prosper together, or perish together, because their way of life and their behavioural choices are becoming synchronised and inter-dependent.

When man started to live together in much larger social entities, battles were fought on an ever larger scale, and, a much larger number of people would participate in the rise or fall of an empire. For a short period of time, the "known world" was, then, brought under a central administrative control, but, the forces of government would, invariably, weaken and become corrupt, after a few short generations, whenever the pioneering and founding leaderships had disappeared.

The frailty of human nature was unable to resist the temptation of egocentric advantage-taking, thereby weakening and destroying the mechanisms of justice and integration, which had given such an empire its brief moments of prosperity and strength. Yet, the astonishingly rapid growth of prosperity, economic activities and cultural innovations, shows, how much potential there exists in a bond of global socialisation, but, at the same time, our grasp over these mechanisms and our understanding of the factors that promote growth and prosperity, as well as those that initiate the ever-present trends towards corruption and decay, were, and still are, so haphazard, and so vaguely perceived, that we never really knew, why an empire would have a relatively brief period of exuberance and prosperity, and, often, a reasonably long period of decline and impoverishment.

We still have not found a set of satisfying and generally acceptable principles to explain the rise and fall of social entities, and, our current status of "wisdom" sees, once again, man's highest aspirations and goals embodied in the concept of a sovereign nation. At this time in the evolution of man's thinking, we do not really agree amongst ourselves about any particular evolutionary trend, because we still do not have a firm educational basis, where we can teach and demonstrate the validity of seeing ourselves as a part of the natural evolution of life on our planet.

A lot of hard conceptual work lies ahead of us, before we can, even, design a basic teaching curriculum, which will clearly show us our evolutionary past, the development of our psychological and mental capabilities, including the functions of language communication. If we can teach our children a coherent picture letting us see, how our mental faculties, our cultural guidance-patterns, as well as our beliefs, evolved, we will teach them at the same time, a relativistic approach to reality. Certainly, we may undermine, to some extent, our ability to hope fervently, and, to resist stress fanatically, but, then, we may not need to resist severe and chonic stresses so often, because we will have a better insight how to avoid these harmful conditions and agonising behavioural choices.

As a rule, we have learned, quite well, how to avoid accidents with our dangerous tools and weaponry, but the unparalled destructiveness and lethal effects of many modern weapons make the world seem more like an air-plane, where one deranged fanatic can destroy the entire craft. Increasingly, we are drifting into a situation, where all our hard-won progress towards a democratically organised social environment, an equal input of our opinions and a more or less equalised standard of living, is negated by the awesome power of our weaponry. What is the good of a democratic society or a Party-philosophy that promises heaven on earth for all the workers, if a few army-officers have the power to unleash a nuclear attack?

Certainy, we like to think, that our national leaders are sane people, who are doing their best to avoid such a catastrophe, but, who knows when their powers will falter, or, when the chain of command will break-down? As long as we have such lethal and destructive weapons around us, we can never be sure, that we will not be subjected to some sort of black-mail by a small fringe-group. If such a fringe-group happens to believe, that the Lord has ordered them to destroy the wicked world, or, if the small fringe-group has decided to commit a fiery suicide in which a large part of the world is forced to join, we will be seeing a catastrophic vastness of death and destruction, without any parallel in history.

Throughout the evolution of mankind, the consequences of our technical innovations and behavioural aberrations have become more important and potentially devastating for us all, and, we may already have reached the state, where the future of mankind depends on a contract of cooperation, just as the fate of a ship in distress may be decided by the degree of cooperation amongst the people on board. Very likely, any attitude of military isolationism, where we try to find absolute security behind our nuclear weaponry, or a vast, complex and partially space-based anti-ballistic weapon system, is a dangerous illusion, just as it would be an illusion for a stranded crew of a disabled ship to believe, that they can survive, if they try to solve their disputes by wasting time and energy on the preparations for a violent conflict.

We have already experienced, that it is far more preferable, and much less weakening, to replace the struggle for power and influence by a struggle for electoral support. When will we learn to see, that this same principle will have to be extended to settle international disputes?

I would love to see the national leaders of our great and sovereign nations, (who are still so pre-occupied with their dangerous solutions of absolute military security), to engage in a truly honest dialogue about the fears and mistrusts they have for each other, as well as about their common aspirations. They always claim to be the champions of mankind; of peace and justice; of well-being and concern, and, yet, they continue to build-up arsenals and deploy nuclear missiles, which are so numerous and powerful that they can destroy each other, and the rest of the world, many times over.

The problem is, of course, that we do not have a sufficient synchronisation of ideas and language-symbols to make such a communication possible or fruitful. As long as either side remains convinced, that it represents the true champion of justice and peace, the adversaries can only eye each other with never-ending attitudes of suspicion and mistrust, considering the other side to be the enemy of God and Democracy, or, the Imperial Enemy of the working people of mankind.

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Summary

1. A brief review of topics discussed in the previous essay.
   A look at the anthropoids, before the emergence of man.
   The border-areas between forests and grass-lands.
   The experiment with symbolic representation may well have taken place in several anthropoid species' simultaneously.
   The significance of this development becomes clear in a broad, retrospective over-view.
   What is the existential significance of the ability to recall an event or a memory-trace with an act of mimicry?
   Incidental and accidental recalls of memory-traces.
   The cerebral classification mechanisms of behaviourally flexible animals.
   The significance of "long-distance" sense-organs.
   "Intelligence-gathering", and the struggle for survival.
   Essentially the same situation can be interpreted positively or negatively.
   What is the use of a stream of data, if an organism lacks the ability to evaluate its meaning?
   When an animal is "satiated", it becomes less sensitive to existentially significant stimuli.
   The "filtering" of sense impressions.
   The ability to receive sense impressions is never completely absent, not, even, in deep sleep.
   Without a memory-bank, a quick process of classification, and an instantaneous assessment of existential significance, an efficient behavioural response would be impossible.
   
   
   
2. Cerebral classifications do not imply the existence of verbalisable awarenesses.
   The quality of alertness without the ability to verbalise an awareness.
   Why it is important to be able to give names to all familiar sense-impressions.
   It is difficult, for us, to imagine a form of awareness without the ability to "give a name".
   The nature of animal "volition".
   Pre-verbal communications represent, largely, a synchronisation of moods, or states of alertness.
   A look at the stream of sense-impressions, before social integration has taken place.
   The monumental change from a behaviour of territoriality to hierarchical ordening.
   When other animals become part of the "scanned environment".
   A natural tendency to abandon, or drive-off, a member who has become sick or wounded.
   The spread of a danger-signal.
   "Clustered existence" is only possible, if the food-supply is relatively abundant.
   Solitary existence.
   The essential vulnerability of youngsters from behaviourally flexible species'
   Family-units, and the practice of food-sharing.
   Mood synchronisation is necessary to tolerate each other at close quarters.
   The nature of a "mood".
   Rational communications form only the tip of an iceberg of sub-verbal communications.
   Baffled by the seemingly illogical twists and turns of a flow of verbalised communications.
   
   
   
3. A long and vulnerable apprenticeship in childhood is the necessary price for the ability to learn from experiences and parental examples.
   A discussion of the feature of "behavioural flexibility".
   The problems associated with rapidly changing circumstances, a long "generation time", and a low population density.
   Short-comings of the genetic method for the provision of viable behaviour-patterns.
   Nothing in nature arises "out of the blue".
   The potential of "learning" has always been present.
   Behavioural flexibility requires a greatly enlarged repertoir of sensory capabilities.
   The phenomenon of "temporary behavioural programming".
   The requirements for complex hunting techniques.
   The need for specific or factual communications.
   Grasping, with a measure of conviction and enthousiasm, the imagery that makes it plausible to see, how, and why, the road towards language communication was begun.
   A code of "cultural transmissions".
   Intelligent behaviour.
   The functions of the genetic code in behaviourally flexible animals.
   A "fine-tuning" of the behavioural response.
   The value of imitating successful parental examples.
   Building-up a personal experience-base.
   What is necessary to unfold an attitude of "concerned parenthood".
   The element of "play" during childhood.
   Setting limits for tolerable behaviour-patterns.
   The gradual withdrawal of a "parental sphere of care and protection".
   Contributions made by both parents.
   The simultaneous development of the attitudes of cooperation, ferocity and parental concern.
   A gradual rise in the need to explore the potentials of symbolic communications is linked to the manipulation of tools and weapons, mechanisms of socialisation, as well as the cultural transfer of acquired knowledge and behaviour-patterns.
   
   
   
4. Making use of a large range of food-stuffs sharpens the requirements of caution and intelligence.
   An ever-expanding use of tools and weapons.
   An existentially significant find would cause a flurry of excitement.
   Many specific finds would be associated with a characteristic "activity".
   A specific spontaneous movement or gesture begins to carry a specific communicative significance.
   A mechanism that is closely related to the spontaneous re-enactment of a memory-trace.
   The playful re-enactment of "real-life situations" by children.
   The stage is being set for an epochal experiment with symbolic representation.
   The characteristics of highly intelligent and alert, behaviourally flexible animals, with the same sense-organs as man.
   Many ways in which a memory-recall could have been triggered.
   A vivid stream of images during dream-sleep.
   Making the recall of mental images more orderly and controled by the function of the "will", and the ability to evaluate logically.
   
   
   
5. An unobtrusive bridge between pre-human and human existence.
   Most anthropoids existed in a precarious ecological niche.
   Living in an atmosphere of continuous danger.
   A reliance on the faculties of alertness and agility.
   The rising importance of the ability to convey factual information.
   The road of clever, manipulative behaviour.
   Enhancing the ease of existence; an all-important reward.
   The simultaneous developments of a behavioural complex, as well as a way of life.
   A detailed, speculative look at the way anthropoids lived during this transition-period to becoming human.
   The importance of sharing, collectively, a number of emotions.
   Mitigating fears by expression, communication and "reflection".
   Developing a measure of control over the perception of reality.
   The rise of rituals and magical manipulations.
   The road towards modern language-symbols.
   The world of reality perceptions developed as a result of the evolution of special sense-organs and cerebral "processing mechanisms", required for the faculty of behavioural flexibility.
   Sense impressions and experiences were "duplicated" through a system of symbolically represented awarenesses.
   A look at the functions of a language.
   Clarifying spatial and temporal relationships.
   Words are "guides" to help us understand an event or a story with clarity and precision; what happened, who was inolved, how did it happen and what were the results.
   The ability to "abstract" a large number of qualities or characteristics.
   The role of a "common denominator".
   The world of "intangibles".
   A common framework of internal causes and their effects in the analysis of an event.
   The creation of an "understood" field of forces.
   Why we have to understand and control the emotion of "fear".
   
   
   
6. An intuitive appreciation for the connection between action and result.
   Experiencing the initiation of a particular act as a "voluntary decision".
   The anthropomorphic interpretation of force-fields.
   Explaining happenings and events on the basis of spiritual powers.
   An appreciation for the feature of regularity and predictability.
   Why the accident, or unusual happening, is singled-out for an explanation.
   A useful trend towards generalising and de-mythologising our experiences.
   Man learned to see many similarities, or common denominators, between a large variety of events.
   The search for manipulative control over our circumstances.
   The continuing struggle between anthropomorphic and "natural" cause and effect relationships.
   
   
   
7. Conclusions obtained from rational observations.
   Remarkable powers of observation and analysis.
   The conclusion of "having made an error".
   A framework of "natural laws" or principles of operation.
   Our recent scientific era represents a crowning of the faculties of rational observations and logical conclusions.
   Dealing with phenomena that seem to defy an analysis in non-anthropomorphic terms.
   A web of assumptions and apparent certainties.
   The three levels of "input"; specific schooling, personal observations, and culturally absorbed beliefs and opinions.
   A "personal way" of practicing a scientific discipline.
   Defining the nature of a superstition.
   Psychological needs are often filled with superstitious beliefs.
   The value of "scientific schooling".
   Placing a "personal touch" upon a point of view.
   We need a solid foundation of facts for an awareness, observation or discussion.
   The capability of "rational behaviour" does not depend upon the faculties of conceptual awareness.
   An animal can behave rationally.
   The zone of emotional near-neutrality.
   Careful analysis of an existing situation is possible through verbal, as well as non-verbal means.
   The fragile zone of emotional neutrality.
   Hope and fear indicate the nature of our expectations.
   A vague, but persistent, existential anxiety.
   The function of caution or "prudence".
   The importance of keeping our options open.
   The attitude of "hope".
   The attitude of hope must have a rational basis in order to be sustainable.
   The advantages of a belief that has overcome the riddles of death and injustice.
   Why hope may flare on the vaguest of rumors.
   The consequences of a chronic, but not overwhelming stress.
   Stress always affects the processes of rational evaluation.
   We have a tendency to rationalise our bellicose attitudes.
   When our rational faculties have "given-up hope" of surviving the stressful situation of the present.
   
   
   
8. Adapting to a situation of competitive strife.
   The temptation to isolate ourselves.
   The mechanisms of socialisation and competitive strife are always at work, often, simultaneously.
   How to initiate a fruitful dialogue on a global scale.
   Man's survival has become solidly based on the presence, as well as the further development, of the ability to communicate conceptually.
   A fragile and disjointed cultural code.
   Man always had to cope with the ambivalent consequences of every conceptual or technological innovation.
   The speed of factual communications has been increasing rapidly.
   A look at the empires of the past.
   A lot of hard, conceptual work lies ahead of us.
   We have learned, to some extent, how to avoid accidents with dangerous tools and weapons.
   The danger of black-mail by a lunatic fringe.
   Living with the possibility of a global catastrophe.
   The need to control the behaviour-patterns of our leaders.
   At the present time, there is an insufficient synchronisation of ideas and language-symbols to make communications on a global scale fruitful.

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