I collected existing descriptions of consciousness in the field of neurology and biology and tried to formulate my own definition. Here's what happened:
"Consciousness is the process of creating a model of the world using many feedbacks according to various parameters (for example, temperature, position in space, time and relation to others) in order to achieve certain goals (for example, finding a couple, food, shelter)."
I call this the “space-time theory of consciousness”, because this definition emphasizes the idea that animals create a model of the world mainly in relation to space and relatives, while a person goes further and unfolds his model of the world in time, moreover, as forward and back.
So, the minimum, lowest level of consciousness - level 0 - occurs when the organism is motionless or has limited mobility and creates a model of its habitat using feedbacks in just a few parameters (for example, temperature). An example of the simplest level of consciousness is a thermostat that automatically, without assistance, turns on an air conditioner or heater to help maintain a given temperature in a room. Its main feature is a feedback loop that turns on the desired device if the room gets too hot or too cold. (It is known that metals expand when heated, so that the thermostat can turn on something if the length of a certain metal strip becomes more than a certain value.)
Each feedback loop registers "one unit of consciousness." The thermostat mentioned above would have one zero-level consciousness unit, or a 0: 1 level.
In this way, we can describe any consciousness based on the number and complexity of feedback loops used to build a model of the world. In this case, consciousness is no longer a vague set of vague concepts that form a vicious circle, but a hierarchical system that can be quantified. For example, a bacterium or a flower has many more feedbacks, so they have a more developed consciousness of level 0. Thus, a flower with ten feedbacks (responsive to temperature, humidity, sunlight, gravity, etc.) would have a consciousness level of 0:ten.
Mobile organisms with a central nervous system have level I consciousness. Their consciousness includes an additional set of parameters that allow tracking the current position in space. An example of Level I consciousness is reptiles. Reptiles have so many feedback loops that a central nervous system had to be formed to control them.
Promotional video:
The reptile's brain contains approximately a hundred or a little more feedback loops (responsible for smell, balance, touch, hearing, vision, blood pressure, etc., and each of them also contains internal feedbacks). For example, a lot of feedbacks are involved in visual perception - after all, the eye is able to recognize color, movement, shape, intensity of light and shadow. Likewise, other reptile senses, such as hearing and taste, need additional feedback. Taken together, all these feedbacks form the mental picture of the world and the position of the reptile itself, as well as other animals (for example, prey) in it. By the way, in humans, level I consciousness is controlled mostly by the reptilian brain located in the central and back of the head.
Further, we have level II consciousness, where the organism creates a model of its position not only in space, but also in relation to its relatives (we are talking about social animals with emotions). The number of feedback loops in Level II consciousness is increasing exponentially, so it is useful to introduce a new quantitative (numerical) classification for this type of consciousness. Searching for allies, recognizing enemies, serving the alpha male, etc. - all these are very complex behavioral schemes, for the implementation of which a highly developed brain is required.
The emergence of Level II consciousness coincides with the formation of new brain structures in the form of the limbic system. As already noted, the limbic system includes the hypothalamus (responsible for memory), the amygdala (responsible for emotions) and the thalamus (directs sensory information), and everywhere new parameters are processed to model relationships with congeners. Thus, the number and type of feedback changes.
We define the development of level II consciousness as the total number of individual feedbacks that an animal needs for social interaction with members of its group. Unfortunately, there is very little research into animal consciousness, and not all methods of social communication in a group are known and taken into account. But for a rough estimate, we can judge the development of level II consciousness by counting the number of congeners in a group or tribe and adding to this a complete list of ways of emotional interaction between animals.
This list should include recognition of friends and rivals, and the formation of friendly ties, and the provision of mutual services, mutual support, understanding of one's own status and the social position of other individuals, respect for the status of high-ranking individuals, a demonstration of strength to subordinates, intrigues in order to climb the social ladder etc. (We are excluding insects from the list of Level II conscious creatures because, despite the complex social organization of the swarm or family, they are emotionless, as far as we can tell.)
Despite the paucity of empirical studies of animal behavior, we can very roughly quantify Level II consciousness by listing the emotions and social behaviors of specific animals.
For example, if a pack of wolves consists of ten individuals and each wolf interacts with each of the other fifteen different ways, i.e. with fifteen different emotions and behaviors, then the level of his consciousness in the first approximation is set by the product of both and is equal to 150. In other words, the level of consciousness of the wolf is II: 150. This number also takes into account the number of other animals with which the wolf has to deal, and the number of communication methods adopted by wolves. The final number is just a rough estimate of the total number of social interactions that a given animal can exhibit; it will undoubtedly change as we learn more about the behavior of wolves.
(Of course, evolution is not precise, clear and unambiguous, so there are deviations that we will have to somehow explain; such riddles include, for example, the level of consciousness in social animals that hunt alone.)
Level III Consciousness: Modeling the Future
Having designated the framework of consciousness in this way, we see that humanity is not unique. There are many consciousnesses. As Charles Darwin once remarked, "The difference between man and higher animals, while great, lies in degree rather than character." But what distinguishes human consciousness from animal consciousness? Man is the only one in the animal kingdom who understands the concept of "tomorrow".
Unlike animals, we constantly ask ourselves the question "What if …?", While considering the future for weeks, months and even years ahead. I believe that Level III consciousness creates a model of its place in the world, and then launches the modeling into the future, based on more or less crude assumptions. Briefly, we can say this:
“Human consciousness is a specific form of consciousness that creates a model of the world and then models its behavior in time, evaluating the past and modeling the future on its basis. This requires averaging and evaluating a variety of feedbacks in order to make a decision and achieve a goal."
Michio Kaku, "The Future of Mind"